Kristine: Ok, I know it's so late to publish this since I started writing it not long after my visit to the cemetery, and I had delayed due to procrastination and sickness. But still, better late than never.

Selene: Ok, what is it this time?

Kristine: My inspiration for this was that during my visit there, I saw a brown moth nearby at my grandparents' grave. It was believed that a moth can be a sign that a departed soul wants to convey a message to his or her loved ones still alive on earth. But then, I wanted something different, so I decided to use butterflies as a sign.

Terrence: Interesting…

Kristine: And also, I added some comparisons between Egyptian and Japanese customs when it comes to dead people. I hope you'll appreciate it, since it was based on common knowledge and from what I've seen and heard.

Selene: Better if they understand what you say in the story, hikari.

Kristine: And so, without further delay, let's start the story.

Skye: The authoress does not own YGO!, nor the characters, only the OCs and the plot.

Gray smoke curled from the burning fragrant incense sticks that were inserted separately into two small gold stands that stood near a pair of polished obsidian tombstones. Beside them was a bouquet of fresh white flowers, replacing the ones that were withered due to being left for a long time. A girl was kneeling down facing the tombstones, her hands clasped in prayer and her head bowed.

The reason why Kristine Darkraven visited the cemetery that day was because it was the birthday of one of her departed friends. The tombstones were engraved with silver Kanji characters, the names of her closest friends who were lovers. They were Yugi Mutou, the innocent, angelic – faced expert duelist whom she sometimes asked for help, and Yami Sennen, the former spirit of the Millennium Puzzle who had been granted a solid body and had lived with Yugi ever since. Both Yami and Yugi were polar opposites, yet it was due to their strong bond of friendship that they became soul mates.

But being a mortal would also mean being vulnerable to death, and they were no exception. They were both victims of the car accident that occurred a few months ago in Battle City, right in front of the site where the victory party was supposed to be held in celebration for Yugi becoming the champion of the latest Duel Monsters tournament there. Both he and Yugi were driving towards the venue when suddenly, a truck with a drunk driver rushed straight into the former pharaoh's car. Yami attempted to evade the truck but was unsuccessful, for the truck had swiveled away from the small vehicle but ended up being tumbled, crushing the hapless car underneath its huge weight. Many people stood in terror and some even panicked at the sight of the incident.

Police had arrived not long after that and they had to help in pushing the truck away from the destroyed car along with some witnesses. The driver was arrested for over speeding and reckless driving while the victims, who had suffered from severe head lacerations and deep stab wounds, were immediately rushed to the hospital. But both Yami and Yugi were not fortunate enough to make it alive; they took their last breath before the doctors could check on their condition.

The accident was truly a tragedy for family, friends and fans alike. Lots of people had flocked at the time of their burial, especially Kristine and Selene, her other half. The female's emerald eyes held limitless grief as she offered a bouquet of flowers and smoked some incense in front of their pictures, while her yami watched her from a distance, standing with other guests, feeling sympathy despite wearing her usual emotionless façade.

Who would have thought that a supposedly happy moment could end up in tragedy? Of course, no one would expect that to happen.

"Partner, I wonder why you still need to visit them even though they're already six feet below the ground," Selene was beside her light, watching her doing the silent act.

Kristine raised her head back to normal level and put her hands on her lap, still in kneeling position. "It's simply to let them know that we still care for them," she replied without taking her eyes off the engraved surface, as if sensing her yami's inner question. "Spirits would get lonely if their graves were not visited by anyone, especially people close to them. Loneliness is one reason why spirits wander around aimlessly in this world, to search for people who still care of them even though they're already dead. Of course, no one wants to be forgotten."

"But in Ancient Egypt, once a person is buried as a mummy, his or her tomb must be left behind undisturbed for good," the former servant proved her point. "In fact, relatives and loved ones must bring everything the spirit needs for his or her journey to the afterlife as an offering. After that, that's it; the tomb must not be touched again, unless one must risk suffering from traps and curses for disturbing its peaceful slumber."

"Yeah, I know that. No wonder archaeologists and tomb robbers made many attempts to go into tombs, and most of them ended up sealing their own fate, although there were ones still lucky to survive," the emerald – eyed female replied. She had remembered one story back in her history class at Domino High School, the one involving Howard Carter and his venture into the tomb of Tutankhamen, one of the greatest pharaohs ever existed in Egypt's history. It was said that shortly after Carter and his men broke into the burial chambers of the pharaoh, some succumbed to mosquito bite infection and died. Carter managed to live long enough before he reached his death.

Kristine's thoughts were later interrupted by her other self's voice calling her name. "Hey, Kristine, look at that."

"What is it?" the short – haired female stood up and scanned the area around her until she finally saw what her yami was talking about. Two butterflies hovered not far from her, flying near Yami's and Yugi's tombstones. Their bodies were black and so did their wings, except that one had red – colored spots and the other possessed violet ones.

Her green orbs widened at the sight of them. "That's strange. I've never seen butterflies before at a cemetery like this, unless…"

Her voice stopped when the butterflies suddenly glowed in a bright light, increasing its intensity slowly until the whole area was bathed in white and the girl had the shield their eyes with their arms to avoid becoming blind. When the light finally cleared, Kristine and Selene lowered their arms to see if anything changed.

Everything looked almost the same as before, except that the butterflies were no longer there and was replaced by two male teens, their translucent figures dressed in white. They looked like they're siblings because they both sport tri – colored hair and pale skin, except that the taller one had blond lightning bangs shooting up together with the red-edged ebony spikes, while the shorter one had one yellow bang hanging down the center of his forehead, his wild black mane tinged with purple.

The girls couldn't believe what they saw. Yami and Yugi were truly there.

"You guys…" Kristine couldn't utter another word, still at awe at their presence.

"Wow, I would never expect you to come at a time like this," Selene commented, her lips curved in a half – smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Yugi sheepishly scratched the back of his head, laughing. "Yeah, I know it's sudden, but…"

"We decided to drop by for a visit here," Yami finished the sentence for him.

The short – haired female was still shocked by their unexpected arrival that she became full of emotion and tears began welling up in her eyes. She ran towards them to hug them, but as she was about to wrap her arms around them, her body just passed through them. She became astonished at first, but then realized something else. "Oh, that's right, you're both dead now," she murmured, depression clearly shown on her face.

"Don't worry, we understand how much you missed us," Yugi said, trying to cheer her up.

"In fact, we missed you, too," the ex – pharaoh added.

Kristine turned around to face the spirits and smiled faintly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "Thanks for being honest, guys. Anyway, why dropping by for a visit at a place like this?"

"Well, actually, we roamed around for a while now," the amethyst – eyed teen replied.

"I know everyone felt so sad about our demise, and we couldn't stand seeing them like that, so we decided to check on them, disguising as butterflies, and see how were they going," his darkness explained.

"And now, you're doing the same for us," Selene piped up. "That explains the weird phenomenon going on right now."

It was then that Kristine decided to change the subject. "So, about the tragedy that killed you both on the night of your victory party…"

Yami nodded, understanding what she meant. "I know. It was really unexpected to see things like that."

"Neither of us thought that it would be our last joyous moment together here on Earth before we died," Yugi added. "And it was all because of the accident."

"Well, I'm glad that the reckless driver was sent to jail," Kristine became exasperated at that memory, her hands on her hips and her chin slightly raised up. "Besides, he still has to pay for what he did to both of you."

The famous duelist sighed. "But still, it couldn't be helped. It already happened and nothing could bring us back from the dead." His mouth then curled into a smile. "Look, don't worry about us anymore, ok?"

Kristine gasped slightly at that. "But why?"

"Look, I know everyone's been worried about us, including you, but…" the ruby – eyed male moved closer to Yugi and placed his hand on his little one's shoulder. "We're finally content in the place where there's no pain, suffering or misery."

The amethyst – eyed teen nodded in agreement as he leaned onto his other half's shoulder, taking his other hand. He then gazed at their female friends once more. "That's right. We may no longer be alive in this world, but remember this: keep us in your memories."

The emerald – eyed female's frown was replaced with a smile, getting the point. She nodded in agreement. "Don't worry. We will never forget you two. Oh, and happy birthday to you, Yugi."

"Thanks," Yugi accepted the greeting with a smile.

"Well, see you later at the afterlife," Yami waved goodbye to the raven – haired girl, his hikari imitating him, and they were both shrouded in a bright light once more. Kristine and Selene had to shield their eyes again, and when the light had diminished and they uncovered their eyes, the tri – colored haired boys were already gone.

The silver – eyed female let out a soft whistle as she approached her hikari. "Now that's something I don't see everyday. I never thought such spirit creatures exist in your world."

"Well, actually, they're butterflies," Kristine clarified. "They may look like the usual kind we see in parks, gardens and butterfly sanctuaries, but what makes them peculiar and interesting is that they can be possessed by souls as some sort of medium between here, the human world, and the afterlife."

"Now that's something I've never heard of," Selene complimented with fascination. "All I know was that once a soul departs to the afterlife, it was safely assumed that it's already at peace. That's why loved ones had to bring everything necessary for the spirit's journey, to make sure that he or she was sufficiently prepared without worry, and the spirit would finally be at peace, well, unless that person had a grudge or something like that."

"Well, that may be true for Egyptians, but in this case, it's different," Kristine's green orbs gazed at the sky changing its color to pinkish – orange. "Souls would take shape of butterflies, whether they want to convey a message to their loved ones still alive on Earth, or simply to let them know that they're not alone. We all know that it's painful to bear the grief of losing people close to us, but we must learn to move on and hold them deep in our hearts. Who knows, maybe by the time it's our turn to leave this world, we will see them again."

Selene's lips curled into her usual semi – smile, following her hikari's gaze at the sky. "Well, I guess you're right."

"Come, let's go home," the short – haired female glanced at her yami. "It's getting late, and I need to cook dinner for my grandparents in preparation for their arrival from a long trip."

"Sure thing," her other half agreed, putting a hand on her light's shoulder. "And don't forget my favorite sukiyaki."

"Yep, that's what I'll definitely make for dinner," Kristine grinned as they began walking towards home. "For all of us."

Not far from them, the butterflies with black wings, the manifestation of two lovers, were seen flying again, circling the tombstones until they landed on the white petals of the flowers bunched into a bouquet, staying there as if to watch over the two girls.

Kristine: By the way, in case you're wondering, Selene is once one of the pharaoh's servants in her past life. But I won't tell you the rest, so the authoress will post the complete info at another time.

Yami: *stands behind Kristine with his aura beginning to grow dark* Never thought that we're dead in your story… Is that part of your plan?

Kristine: *begins to sweat and waves her hands frantically at Yami* Oh… nonononono… It's just for this story… Nothing personal, really!

Yami: I'll mind crush you! *starts to activate his dark magic on Kristine*

Yugi: *grips Yami's wrist* Calm down, Yami…

Yami: But-

Yugi: Do as I say or you won't be getting any tonight!

Yami: *deactivates his magic and his aura fades* Ok, I'm sorry…

Selene: *smirks* Nice attempt to stop Yami from forcing Kristine to say her death wish…

Yugi: *scratches the back of his head sheepishly* Gee, thanks…

Kristine: *sighs and starts to calm down* Review please! Free cookies and chocolate milk for anyone who reviews!

Skye: See you later! *winks*