The halls of Kame Game are just like they were when he was a young boy, the occasional squeaking floorboard a hazard for someone trying to sneak out in the middle of the night, specifically someone named Yugi Muto, all bundled up in his heavy coat and scarf and trying not to wake up Grandpa Muto in the other room. (Solomon proved to be a fighter in his old age, still the sole operator of the game shop despite everything running against him. The shop competed with bigger and more streamlined businesses, but they still attracted a regular group of gamers looking for cards and dueling accessories. Of course, having the legendary duelist as his grandson didn't hurt either.)
Yugi manages to creep down the stairs and out onto the front porch of the game shop, shivering slightly as the cold air hits his body. This is Domino City in the winter, when the sun is down and the city lights look like sparkling stars from above. He feels a bit silly for sneaking out at such an ungodly hour after sunset - twenty years old and wandering around his own house like a thief in the night, honestly! - but his legs feel restless and beg to walk around in the snow for a bit. Not to mention that tomorrow will be his latest date with Anzu. They had finally gotten over the hurdle of just being friends and had begun dating during their last year of high school; now that Anzu is a student at a local prestigious dance academy (funded, oddly enough, by one of many Kaiba Corp's grant programs) and Yugi is attending university, their time together is more sporadic as ever, between exams and duels and everything else. He had even been approached by a big publishing company, wanting to know if he wanted to release a memoir of his adventures as a young genius duelist. A memoir! Him! Yugi's head was continually spinning from how fast life was coming at him these days. No wonder he is now walking down a suburban sidewalk at night, looking to clear his mind of everything just for one moment.
Moonlight falls across his path and lights up his multicolored hair as he walks. Yugi shivers again and regrets not grabbing a hat to pull over his head. He wonders how he ever remembered to do these kinds of things when he was younger, more reckless. One hand strays without thinking to his neck, to a gold chain of links that isn't there any more. He shivers, hard, and remembers what he could never forget: his old friend, Atem.
"Are you watching over me, Atem? Can you see me even after we said good-bye?" He blinks away a snowflake that's fallen into his vision and laughs at himself for talking to the air. Maybe it is just to get out into the fresh air, or just an impulsive action on his part, but Yugi is starting to think there is a reason he is shivering not so quietly andtalking as if someone could answer back. Maybe he misses Atem more than he thought. If he could see Yugi now, he wonders, what would he think? He remembers watching Atem's back as it retreated into the shining light, coat billowing behind him from an invisible wind as he became the Atem he always was and meant to be. And he could tell that Atem would never be alone again, even in the spirit world.
Yugi pulls one hand out of his coat pocket and checks the time. He should really be in bed by now, if he wants to wake up early enough to get ready for his date with Anzu. He takes a moment, however, to look at his hand curiously, remembering when thick black lines from a marker covered the skin. He had been extremely hesitant back then to wash it off, afraid he'd lose that close bond with his friends if he did. A silly thought. But then, a long time ago, he had been afraid he would lose his close bond with the best friend he would ever have - and that was not true.
He starts to walk again, a strong wind at his back, as if a pair of loving hands are gently pushing him back home.