Gone

by Nerdfightersa5m

-Spoilers- Takes place after Yami left for the afterlife. Yugi is taking the transition hard, but it gets even harder when his friends reveal they believe the existence of the Pharaoh was simply a psychotic breakdown. Chapters are embedded, lookout for those. Text messages are notated with a hyphen in front

One

He was gone.

He had left me on his quest for the ending he deserved, rest. He had been tormented for millennia in the darkness after he sacrificed himself to save the world and then he did it all over again. He deserved to be happy.

But what about what I deserved? Was I really supposed to live my life as empty and alone as he had left me? The weight of his absence was crushing me. My head was too empty without his voice always there. And sometimes...

Sometimes I wondered if it had all been a dream. Or just a split personality. Insanity. Perhaps I'd been too pressured and had developed a second personality who had taken over playing the games I loved so much and would be as confident as I wished I was, all in my own head. Was my best friend, the other half of my soul, only a voice in my head I had conquered? I wanted it back. I didn't want to conquer this insanity. I would gladly suffer this mental disease for the rest of my life if it meant I could still have him.

I reached for the puzzle and ended up just grabbing the front of my shirt where it should have been, the heart behind the ribs breaking all over again with the emptiness. A tear slipped down my cheek. But this time, the was nothing there to catch it. No one to wipe it away. No reason for it to stop. So it reached the bottom of my sorrow and dredged up all of the rest of the tears I hadn't managed to shed yet, all of them pouring down my face. Oh, Atem, Yami, Mou Hitori no Boku, why? Why did you leave me? I need you so much more than you ever knew, than I was ever brave enough to tell you.

The ghost of a touch slipped across my shoulders and down my arm, like he used to do when he moved around me to look in my face. I missed him so much, it was getting to me. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't take this. I can't handle being alone like this anymore. I think fingers may have touched my tear-stained cheeks, but I don't know. I opened my eyes, and there he was. In all of his glory, kneeling on the ground beside my desk with his head on one arm, lain on my desk, the other arm outstretched towards me. A smile touched his mouth, almost as sweetly as I wanted to touch his mouth. He was perfection, before me. It hurt so much, my hope rising so high. But when I looked around the class room, no one was reacting. They didn't see him. I looked back and he was gone.

The pain was worse. I didn't think it could hurt more, but I was wrong. This was so much worse, losing him again and again. I was shattering. His voice was echoing in my head. I knew he had left, but it was like he was still there.

And that was when I really began to question it all. Had I been crazy the whole time? Was Yami even real? Or was he just an alter ego I created for myself? His voice was echoing louder now, shouting through my skull and bouncing chaotically through my sanity. "Aibou! Aibou!" Over and over again, killing me slowly with the sentiment that had once brought life to me. Hands pressed to my ears, but I could still hear him. He was in every fold of my memory.

"Stop it! Stop it! If you're going to leave me, just leave!" I slammed my fists into the desks, eyes squeezed shut once more.

He put his hands on my shoulders, I knew it was him. His breath ghosted over my ear as he spoke to me. Shivers raced up and down my spine with his words acting as the hare to their hound. So distraught was I that I almost didn't hear what he said. But I was never that lucky. His words slipped into my mind and swirled around like a hurricane, destroying everything in their path.

"Don't cry because it's over, Aibou. Remember what we had."

A loud noise exploded from the back of the classroom and all eyes turned to look directly at Yuugi. His fists were pressed to the desk where he had apparently slammed them down, eyes squeezed shut, tears clearly evident on his cheeks. He reacted to what must have been a touch none of us could see, flinched away from the nothing on his right and began to cry anew. His behavior was very worrying. Even after we had gotten rid of that blasted puzzle.

Worrying my lip almost as much as I worried about my little Yuugi, I faced forward again, waiting for the teacher to try to correct the mess we hadn't been able to fix for almost two years. His grandfather had tried. Hell, we'd even gotten Kaiba to play along for a while after we realized it had gone too far. We got him to try to show Yuugi he could win on his own. Yuugi never understood. He never understood that there was no spirit of the puzzle. It was all in his head.

The teacher was standing at the front of the class, looking just as shocked as everyone else. Everyone except for those who knew. Knew what Yuugi was struggling with right now. We had finally had to take away the puzzle, hoping it would force it all to stop so Yuugi could be a normal teenager again. Unfortunately, it seemed even that hadn't worked.

Another sound resounded from the back of the classroom. I looked up, shocked, what could be happening now? I turned in my seat to look back. Yugi lay on the ground, shaking, curled around himself, hands fisted in his own shirt as though he were trying to squeeze his own heart. His shattering, aching heart.

It hurt. It all hurt. My heart was exploding, or perhaps it was caving in on itself. He wasn't there to give it shape, to fill the other half on me, and now my heart was caving under the pressure of losing him. I tried to curl around my pain. Perhaps if I could contain it within myself and concentrate it enough, my pain could take the shape of its master. My master, the bringer and master of my pain. My darkness. Oh how I craved the darkness now, when the light burned me so. I could feel the light searing me from the inside out. The light my Yami had so affectionately known me by was now killing me without his sweet, soothing darkness to protect me.

I could feel his absence ripping through every pore of my body... And then on my arm, a touch. When it didn't relent, I opened my eyes, reluctantly leaving the scant darkness I could forge for myself. I half expected, perhaps hoped, that it would be my mind tricking me with images of him again, just so I could see him once more... But it was Anzu. She must have come to my aid when I fell out of my chair. For the first time, I really looked around the classroom at the faces of my class-mates. There was so much worry, concern...fear and disgust at my outburst. I had never been popular to begin with and now my status was sure to plummet to rock bottom as the kid who had the melt down in class. How far the king had fallen. But then, it was never really me that was the king of games, was it? It was all him. I was just the shadow, a shadow to the darkness. Without him, I'm worthless. My friends liked him more, and why wouldn't they? He was everything: confident, talented, charming, wise... He was my everything.

How is one supposed to function with nothing?

Two

Air. Sand. I needed air but there was so much sand. In my ears, my nose, my eyes and mouth. The sand was everywhere, I couldn't tell where the sand ended and I began. As I began to paw my way through the sand towards easy breathing, I felt a faint sensation of a rubber band being pulled to its limits. I wouldn't have noticed it if not for the snap that followed. A band pulled too tight and ripped apart to each follow their own direction, harming any in the way of their violent separation. I felt this break in my mind, my heart, my soul. It hurt much more than the need to breathe, slowing me from the pursuit of my original goal. I was reminded all too quickly of my need to breathe though as pangs of oxygen deprivation hit me in waves and I began to dig my up again.

Shoving rocks aside, choking on the dust and sand everywhere. Sneeze. More rocks... There! Light. I reached for the light, rising from the darkness and ruble I had awoken in. Oxygen. Sweet breathing. I coughed up sand, sneezed again, more sand, shook it out of my hair and brushed it off my face. Regaining my faculties, that was when I noticed the sounds, dim and far-off sounding because of the sand in my ears but definitely there. Blinking, clearing my vision beyond the hazy images I could see through the sand, searching for this sound. The crying.

There. A woman. I tried to call out to her but all I managed was a hoarse sound and a round of coughing, but it managed to capture her attention. Her eyes widened upon taking in my form half-buried in the sand and stone. Stumbling over chunks of stone, slipping in the sand, rushing to my side as a smile spread across her tear-streaked face.

"Where am I, woman?" I asked, my voice still very hoarse from sand and disuse.

"Nowhere any more, how did you get here? What happened?" Her words were so smooth, without searching one would certainly not have noticed the hitch in them. She was very pretty on top of the elegance it appeared she normally held. However, now her, probably once intricate, makeup was smeared with her tears and her hair was getting frizzy with the heat, more than a few strands of hair sticking out at random angles as though she had been distressing it in her distress.

"I was hoping you could tell me that... Would you happen to know who I am?"

Three

Yuugi had trouble adjusting without his puzzle and delusions, though we were beginning to worry if perhaps the delusions hadn't stopped when we got rid of the puzzle as he finally completed the 'mission' he had been on. The poor guy kept reacting like someone was touching him, he'd look in random directions for a moment and tears would gloss his eyes over, but they never fell. He never told us how much he was hurting after that one outburst. He never cried around us. He never asked for help. As far we knew, he was still attending those therapy sessions his grandfather set up but they didn't seem to be doing much good. There were dark circles under Yuugi's eyes and he was getting paler, thinner, while his smile reached his eyes less and less.

Honda was laughing, Jounouchi had him in a headlock for something he said which started this whole debacle. I believe it had something to do with his sister, a sore spot for Jounouchi and Honda has had his eye on her for a while now. I might have giggled at their antics if I weren't so concerned with Yuugi at the moment. He was absently fiddling with the cuff of his school jacket and looking out the window. His distraction was probably the only reason I saw. They looked old, so he had been hiding them for a while. How long, I don't know but long enough to be worrisome. It had been a couple months since we got rid of the puzzle and it looked like those scars might be just as old as those memories.

Maybe it was just that day and he realized later...?

"Yuugi... Can I see your arms?" I asked slowly, reaching out as I spoke. The conversation around us stopped dead, the air pregnant with silence. Yuugi froze and his wide, doe eyes locked on me with a fire I hadn't seen since his dueling days which he had also quit when he lost the spirit, along with sleeping apparent from the bags under his eyes. Just as I was about to grab his arm, he pulled his sleeve up to his elbow and brandished it at me like a weapon.

"You mean like this, Anzu? Is this what you wanna see?" There were three scars on each wrist, the upper ones a bit more puckered than the lower ones but all together they seemed old. I was relieved, he had gotten over it and was on the path to recovery. Perhaps the counseling was working. Or so I thought but... "You see, Anzu, I figured this would happen. The wrists are very visible. So I switched. And honestly, it's much better on the thighs. They're more sensitive. Hurts better, distracts me more from the pain."

I'm sure the look on my face was pure horror. How could he do this? I didn't understand it, he should have been getting better. The stupid idea of the spirit possessing him was gone and he was seeing a therapist. Something should have worked. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just see that the spirit wasn't real and he needed to forget him? Why couldn't he just see ME?

"Yuug', buddy... Why? Why didn't you tell us? We could have tried to help you, buddy." Jounouchi had concern in his eyes, and was moving closer to Yuugi as though he were a wild animal.

"Jounouchi, I don't want your fucking sympathy."

"Yuugi just stop!" I shouted, losing my temper, tears rising unbidden. "Yuugi what the hell is your problem? Why can't you just let go of the past and move forward? How did you think hurting yourself was going to help you? You probably didn't even think about how it would affect us. You've been obsessed with this 'spirit' since you solved that damn puzzle and it's not healthy to be so obsessed! You're too old for imaginary friends Yuugi! Why can't you just see how much we care about you, how much I care about you!?"

Silence stretched as Yuugi carefully schooled his face, almost as well as the other Yuugi used to control himself. I waited for the response. A part of me hoped this would be the turning point where he would see the gravity of his mistakes and move towards the path of forgetting.

He stood, looked me straight in the eye, "So that's it, yeah? My 'imaginary friend'? Do you have any idea what I even went through? And you think all of this was fake? Fuck, Anzu, I tried to save the god damned world from darkness, you from enslavement, Jounouchi from countless instances all because I wanted you all to be happy, but now I find out you all thought I was crazy the whole time. You looked down on me, is that it? You think I'm losing my mind, broken, something in need of fixing? I loved him, Anzu. He was perfect. My soul mate. How the fuck do you expect me to move past that?"

"Because I love you, Yuugi, how do you not see that?"

"I saw it, Anzu. I just didn't want to do anything about it because I wanted you to realize that I don't love you Anzu. I don't even particularly like you. Thanks for being nice, but now I see it wasn't even real kindness."

It hurt. It all hurt. Tears pricked my eyes as he left the room, the door slammed. Since we had all insisted on coming over to his house, I would assume he had gone into his room, leaving us all in the living room, everyone staring at me and the mess I had made of a friendship I had cherished so much.

WHAT THE FUCK, ANZU. Tears were clawing their way past my eye lids, even though I thought I had already used them all. Kneeling on the floor of my room, hands pressed against the sides of my head, just trying not to scream. How dare she believe he wasn't real. How could something that had never existed create just strife? How could it wreak such havoc on me if he had never even existed? No. He was real. The spirit, the pharaoh, Atem, my love was real.

For the millionth time, I glanced over at the deck sitting on my desk. The deck that ended everything. The stack of 40 meaningless cards that I had used to personally rip half of my soul out and send it to the afterlife. I wanted to destroy them, for making me remember that, but they were all I had left of him. Even if it was such a horrid memory.

Wait! There may be something else I could use to remember him!

Rummaging through the drawers of my room, in the closet, under the bed... There! The box. Kneeling on my floor, I slid the top off of the little box and stared reverently at the contents. Why had I not thought of this before? Photographs. Glossy memories snatched from time and pasted onto sheets of paper roughly the size of an index card, how beautiful.

I flipped through the pictures until I got to where he showed up in my life. There was the puzzle on my chest, smiling with all of my friends. Now that I was looking back, I could see in the first couple of photos how everyone looked at me, looked at the puzzle, as though something was seriously wrong. Where were the images of him? I knew there were some, for fucks sake, he was in control of my body more than I was!

Flipping to one particular photo, I stared for a moment. This was definitely wrong. I know he was in control during this moment. When this photo was taken, I was most certainly just watching from within the puzzle, admiring how brightly my darkness shone. Why, then, was I the one smirking devilishly in this photo. I didn't even think I was capable of looking confident like that. But it was unmistakably me. The next photo, and the next, on and on. Photos where I knew it should have been him, or I wasn't sure, they were all me with varying levels of confidence and different facial expressions.

How could this be? I know he's real. I wasn't making it all up. I never had the confidence to act like that, take those risks, save those people, or be that great. I was never that amazing. It wasn't me. It was never me. It couldn't have been.

Casting the offending photos across my floor, crawling away from them like they'd burned me, it was all spiraling through my mind at a whirlwind. I didn't understand. No, no, no!

"NO!"

Four

"Stop!" I sat up in bed, sweat drenched and breathing heavily. Panic was surging through me for some reason, but I hadn't even been dreaming as far as I knew. "Stop panicking, it's okay... You're not crazy."

I wasn't sure why I decided to say that aloud, or even why it came to mind but it made me feel better. I mean, I knew I wasn't crazy. Normal people occasionally have a night terror, perhaps I just couldn't remember it. There was one thing I could remember, though. I awoke with a name on my tongue, that never made it out. I couldn't remember it now, but the face that surfaced from the dregs of my mind was still there, floating on the surface. Perhaps they would know.

I would confront the woman tomorrow, perhaps she would know this person as well since she claimed to know me and was allowing me to stay with her for the moment. Course of action decided, I turned over and closed my eyes. But sweet lavender haunted me from just beyond my senses...

"I want to see him." I placed my hands on the table and looked at the two who had been caring for me for the past month and a half since I awoke in the ruble with no memory. They told me my name, since they recognized me, but it jarred nothing lose in the dam of my memory. But him. That face. But I shouldn't say that face, it had been those eyes. The emotion they contained. Slowly I began to remember more. The shape of his face, the mouth, hair, his voice, it was all coming back slowly and I thought maybe... "if I see him, speak with him, I might remember more. I want to understand. I want to know why I'm here, who I am, why he's in my memory, I want to know everything. Surely I have memories, I want to reconnect with them, with who I am."

The woman smiled that lovely, mysterious smile of hers and simply looked at her brother knowingly. He smiled as well and shook his head, "yes, yes, I know you were right. You don't have to rub it in." He turned to regard me, the smile never faltering, "We were waiting to see how long it would take, the preparations have been made. Your citizenship has been created. All of your documents should clear for travel. For now it'll only be a temp visa but we can arrange more permanent documents once you've settled. Right now our mission is to reunite you with your memories as soon as possible."

A smile to match theirs spread over my face. I was almost giddy with the news, like a child. "Thank you so much," I replied, giving a small bow and turning to go begin gathering my few belongings for travel. "By the way... Where is it I will be going?" Thrown over my shoulder, I wondered if they would hear me, so I stood in the hallway and waited out the brief hesitation.

"Japan."

Five

"How are you feeling today, Yuugi?" The drone of this man's voice was honestly worse than the whir of a broken fan. By itself, it made me hate these sessions. But then there was also the part where he tried to slowly convince me that Mou hitori no Boku, my darkness, was just a split personality I made up. To give myself more confidence.

But that wasn't who my Atem was. He wasn't just some switch of confidence I could flip so I could get through tough situations. Atem was my friend. My closest friend, closer than I think any of the others ever realized. But maybe they had figured it out, and apparently told this quack because I could tell when he would try to edge in questions about it. I would of course redirect the conversation because no one deserved to know what Atem meant to me. Especially if they believed he wasn't real. He was special. And he was mine, to be cherished in the puzzle. Perhaps they had noticed it in the way I held my treasure, the way I regarded it as an important person instead of a jewelry item. Or maybe it had been in the way I spoke of him, perhaps I hadn't hidden my adoration in check as well as I believed, perhaps I had spoken a bit too reverently of the Pharaoh.

He was speaking, I noticed part of the way through his statement. Then I remembered I hadn't answered his previous question about how I was feeling and he was probably giving me some damn friendship pep talk to rival Anzu's. Some bullshit about it being safe to speak to him so we could progress together was flowing out of his mouth at an alarming rate. I was going to drown in it if he didn't stop soon.

"I don't want to forget him." I stated simply, sure he would understand what I meant. Almost as sure of that as I was of how much of a waste of time these sessions were. Grandpa's shop wasn't doing bad but it wasn't doing good enough to warrant throwing away money on this.

Of course my statement wasn't going to go down well with this guy but at least I got my intentions out there. "Do you mean this 'Atem' character, Yuugi? Why don't we discuss him? Where do you think he came from? Did he look like a boy you like or look up to?"

If only Atem had been that simple. If only he had just been some cute boy I saw at the mall or an image I had strived to reflect, then perhaps it wouldn't have torn me asunder so when he was wrenched from my life. I simply stared at the man, what was there to discuss about Atem? He was everything to me, but there was nothing I could say to this man without him trying to pump me full of drugs.

But maybe that would be easier. Maybe being forced to forget would hurt less than reliving that day over and over again, his eyes, his voice haunting me in both my dreams and my waking hours. I looked at the man in a new light. Perhaps I could find something valuable in these sessions after all. I'd make it a game, to see how I needed to manipulate the information given to him in order to coerce him into prescribing me blissful ignorance.

"Atem was... Everything to me. It hurts so much without him. It's like there's a hole in my life... I looked up to him. He was confident, handsome, talented, intelligent. Of course I loved him, and I had thought he was all mine. It was perfect, but now he's gone... And the worst part is he wasn't even real apparently... I feel so stupid. I already felt incompetent compared to him but now I realize I'm less than the nothing he was... I- I want to forget him if it means I won't feel this pain anymore... But I can't. He's seared into my memory... Help me..." Jesus Christ, I deserved an Oscar for that performance. It was all bullshit, waist deep, but if the pharaoh had taught me anything, it was how to play a roll.

I swear I could almost see a tear in his eye at my little spiel, "This is what I've been waiting for, Yuugi. Isn't it better to just let it out? I'm here to listen, it's my job. I can recommend something to you that can help a little along the road to getting better. Of course you'll have to try to heal as well, but this can help take some of the hurt away for now, Yuugi."

I cursed him mentally. He'd practically backed me into a corner as though he knew I was playing along only for the drugs. He had assured I would have to continue doing all of the bullshit things he suggested in order to be rewarded with refills. And another thing, he referred to this whole situation as though I was sick, in need of healing. Like Atem was a disease. If he was a disease, then it's an illness I would prefer to never get over. But I had been forced to take my proverbial medicine and the after taste was so horribly bitter, I wanted to vomit. I was cured, but I would never get over the side effects.

Refraining from grinding my teeth, barely, "Of course, Doctor, what do you suggest?"

"Well, you are a senior in high school, why don't you try setting goals with your school work? The sense of accomplishment could perhaps bring your spirits up, give you something to focus on, as well as being a decent outlet."

Not a bad suggestion. While I hadn't particularly considered what I was going to do after high school, I was sure my parents would expect something more than what my abysmal GPA could provide. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start hitting the books now that I wasn't spending my days fighting for my life and freedom.

"You could try talking with your friends more."

Like hell. Those gits were the ones who got me into this mess. Besides, I didn't think I could take bullshitting my way through more conversations than the ones I would no doubt have with this idiot just to keep him under my thumb.

He winked at me, oh gods, what could he possibly suggest next, "And perhaps you could 'get back in the game,' if you get what I mean."

Fuck.

"It's not getting back in the game if you never had any to begin with. I've only ever been on one date, and technically I was the other me when I did, so it didn't count. I'm not even sure what my type is. I thought I had a thing for Anzu, but she only liked the more confident half of my personality, which I don't even identify with. It's not really me, so she never really liked me. And that attraction has long since faded. I'm not sure where to go from here." per of that was true. I did once have a thing for Anzu, but she preferred my Yami, and the attraction has faded since I fell so drastically for him. I wasn't sure there was anything for me that wasn't Atem. "I'm not sure dating is a great idea for me. I'm not over Atem, and I fell like anything less would be settling. I don't think that's fair for whomever I might try to date." Actually true. It wouldn't be fair because no one can claim my heart the way Atem has, which is totally cheesy but totally true.

"Well, you don't need to jump back up on a running horse. Take it slow. Just start looking around, maybe. Notice a pretty girl, appreciate a feature of a nice-looking guy, whatever suits you. Rome wasn't conquered in a day. And neither shall this issue be."

While I stubbornly didn't want to accept it, he had a point. Atem was never coming back... I could try to look. Start small. Just see if there was anything worth seeing. It wouldn't take much. Nothing will ever compare to Atem, but it wouldn't hurt.

"I'll try it."

Six

This blows. My hand was going numb from holding this rapidly warming soda for so long and I was honestly preferred this painfully cold sensation spreading through my fingers to the agony of sitting through another 'therapy' session with Anzu. We had been sitting at the mall for about an hour now, while she pointed out guys she found attractive and looked at me expectantly for my opinion. I'm not sure when she switched from pining to not only accepting my preference for men but becoming my personal match maker.

We came here to try to identify my type but all we had accomplished was identifying Anzu's type and giving me a headache. She kept pointing out angst-y looking boys dressed like bondage. Honestly, I could see why she fell for my Yami, but she had seen all the wrong aspects of him. Yes, he dressed a bit dark and edgy, but it wasn't to garner attention like these shallow boys. Atem had dressed as he lived: on the edge. He was always one step, two, ahead of where everyone else was, acting before anyone had the chance to realize there was a need to act. His eyes were sharp with focus and anticipation, everything was a game, something he could win at if he managed to figure it out first and work it to his own benefit. The eyes of the boys around me were laconic with the ease of just trying to get through high school and look cool. How shallow.

Then there were the damn cool kids, dressed like they were trying to look violent. How droll. Atem never needed to dress like an idiot for people to know he could destroy them. Of course they wouldn't take him seriously at first because of his stature but once he got into the game or, god forbid, they cheated he turned into a master of the darkness and destroyed them. He was always in control, there was no doubt who the seme was when he was around.

The thought made me giggle. Anzu took it as a sign of agreement with whatever she had said and immediately got really excited. Like one misplaced giggle was the sign that we were sailing full speed ahead to recovery or some shit. It seemed she had pointed out a guy and asked what I thought. I could have done worse with my miscommunication. He was cute, and certainly not Atem. Pale skin, green eyes, and black hair, killer. His arms belied a toned body, muscles well-formed but not distractingly present. As I was appraising him, he noticed my staring and glanced over, doing his own quick once-over. I must have passed because he seemed to turn on his charm like a switch. His body? Lithe. That smoldering look?

Lethal.

He approached us, stalking over, never once breaking eye contact like he was a cobra trying to frighten its prey into paralysis, and it was working. It struck me suddenly and all at once that I had never actually done the "dating" thing since I was gay in a vaguely small, Japanese town. Like, I wasn't in to women but men were scary so I was actually just kind of trapped in an asexual middle-ground.

Upon reaching our table, he placed both hands on the edges and leaned on it casually, effectively placing himself in our conversation. I had to give him props for ballsiness, almost as much as Atem.

The thought was instantly sobering and the smirk that had been forming instantly crashed like a crested wave. "Hello, did you need something?" I asked, already wishing the confrontation over and myself back home where I could sulk alone.

"I believe that's my line, you were the one staring at me so intently, we're you not? And with a flirtatious smile, I just had to see if you were up for the game you were getting yourself into." He winked at me and I could almost feel Anzu getting her panties in a wad from excitement.

I perked up at the word 'game'. I enjoyed games almost as much as Atem. True, I hadn't even touched duel monsters since that say three months ago, but I still played plenty of games. Games were my life, especially with him gone. I needed something to keep myself occupied. "What kind of game are we talking here?" My smirk dredged itself back up at the prospect of a challenge.

"You piqued my interest, dear, so now comes the most dangerous game: the chase." The look in his eyes was predatory, hungry. I could feel him oozing charm.

I could play this game "On one condition, there must be challenges. For each challenge, the victor gets an agreed upon spoil. Deal?" I was getting into this now. I hadn't had a new gaming partner in ages. This would be great.

"I'm down, but I'll warn you, I'm great at games. What's say we have our first challenge, no? If I win, I get your number, pretty little thing." He winked again and produced a deck of cards from his pocket. It looked well-worn and loved. "A few rounds of Black Jack?"

"You're on, but if I win, you buy me an ice cream, yes?"

"Sounds good to me. You have no idea who you're dealing with, this is my game. I don't carry a pack of cards in my back pocket for nothing, prepare to be schooled. Might as well get out a pen and paper so you can write that number down for me."

Oh man, the confidence was unstoppable. I was eating it up, my naturally competitive side coming out for the first time in a long time. "We'll see about that. Diaha!"

The whole game was totally rigged.

He must have been counting cards or something. Anzu shuffled and was dealing, but he still managed to come out with 20 or 21 on every round. It was infuriating. So I ended up losing overall and having to give him my number. Not that I was entirely put out, he was cute and interesting to talk to, but I was anticipating an ice cream.

"Here, and your name?" I asked, handing him the slip of paper I had torn off of something to write my number on.

He pocketed it, "You can refer to me as your future boyfriend or, if you prefer, you can call me Otiogi." And with that, he winked again and left.

He didn't even ask my name.

Seven

-Hello

The message came through on my phone, sitting on the stand beside my bed; I rolled over and grabbed the device, keying in commands to reach my message folder. It was from a number I didn't have entered into my phone.

-Who is this?

I lay on my back, phone in the hand on my chest, the other arm thrown over my eyes, awaiting the response of my mystery caller.

-Otogi. You busy?

Hm. What a loaded question. If I said no, he will probably ask for me to go somewhere with him which then returns the ball to my court as to how I will respond: acceptance or rejection. But if I told him I am busy, he might ask for details which could trap me within my own lie, provided he cared enough to ask for details. Another factor to consider is the method in which he had gotten my number: a game. He had destroyed me a Black Jack. I was no where near as good as Atem when it came to games, but I was no noob, either. He had to have been cheating, which demonstrated his interest, certainly, but was horrendous.

-No, you?

Now the ball was in his court, and I would just have to wait to see how he would respond. It occurred to me that I treated conversations and relationships like games to be won and strategized

-I'm free, would you like to hang out? We could play a game or two ;)

The face concerned me a bit, but I certainly had nothing better to do. I wasn't sure I wanted to play more games provided he might cheat, it was disgusting. Cheating was almost worse than murder in my book. Atem would have sent him to the shadow realm, destroyed him for his offense to my honor and that of the game. What had I done? Given him my number, shown interest. How far I had fallen. I was nothing compared to Atem. He stood for what he believed in and I fell under pressure. "A winner shouldn't be on their knees, they should be standing proud with their head high." What pride had I in what I'd done? I'd sent the person closest to my soul to the afterlife with my own hands. It was like murder.

My phone started buzzing anew, chaotically vibrating to its own rhythm. Checking the output on the screen, it was attempting to alert me that I needed to take my meds and then eat soon before or after. I lazily reached over and fumbled blindly around my bed side stand until I managed to upend and then grab my bottle of medication. Popping open the cap, I shook out two tablets and popped them into my mouth, swallowed, then grabbed the bottle of water and took a swig to chase the taste of the pills.

I closed my eyes and flipped my phone idly between my fingers, trying to relax around the knot I had worked myself into over Otogi's cheating and my own guilt. Breathe in, breathe out. Just as I was beginning to feel the ebb of consciousness to relaxation, my phone buzz again and all of my frustration snapped back into place with a vengeance. It was Otogi again, I had taken thirty minutes without responding and it seemed he was worried.

-Hello?

I wanted to chew him out for cheating, for disrespecting the game and myself, tell him I never wanted to see him again and he could shove his cards right up his-

Oh, the meds were kicking in. My head got a little fuzzy and I felt the pressure in my chest deflate, my anger was just beyond my reach and I honestly couldn't remember why I was mad in the first place. So Otogi had cheated, I couldn't really remember why that was such a bad thing. He was pretty cute, and he played games, too. We could hang out, that sounded fun!

-Hey, Otogi, games sound fun! Let's do it. Where would you like to meet? You could come over to my home, we're attached to a game shop, so there are plenty of games to play here!

I made some toast for myself and was just stuffing a slice of it in my mouth when a knock came at the door. I opened it, the slice of toast hanging from my mouth in my haste, and froze for a moment, staring at Otogi. He seemed a bit taken aback, as well, and simply stared at me for a moment. I giggled, coming out of my trance and moved to allow him in the door behind the shop. Before I was fully out of his way, he leaned over and stole a bite from the other end of the toast sticking out of my mouth. He smirked at me, my hands were shaking. I grabbed my toast, biting off the piece in my mouth and chewed it slowly, my cheeks heating up, and cast my eyes to my feet. I heard the low rumble of him chuckling and looked up at him through my lashes, then stepped back and gestured him into the back part of the building where we lived, "Please come in."

Otogi stepped into my house and glanced around, taking in the mediocre surroundings with that same confidence dominating his features. I led him to the living area and asked him what he would like to play. I thought for a moment, to prepare myself in case he had no suggestions. "Oh, we could play Yahtzee! It's an American game, a dice game. Would you like to play?"

"Sounds great, how do we play?"

"Well, I like the challenge, so I try to pick a pattern and then roll to see if I can get it. There are points associated with the various patterns, so if we get the pattern right, we get the points. First one to one hundred wins. You up for the challenge?"

"Of course, but what's the ante? And I can assure you, I will win. Dice are kind of my thing." He winked at me again, "Perhaps my reward can be a date with you?"

I nodded, "And mine could be... A truth. If I win, you have to tell me more about yourself." I smiled and he grinned back at me like the Cheshire cat. Looking back, it was like I couldn't even hear myself, the most ridiculous, overly happy things would gush out of me.

We started the game, a flat board laid out over the carpet for us to roll the dice on and a pad of paper beside me with the column of points for patterns next to it, a pen laid haphazardly across them both. Otogi started with one of the simple patterns after consulting the sheet, just two consecutive numbers on the dice, out of all five of the dice in use the sum of the numbers would be his score. He rolled a five and a six, and I marked down his points. I would pick up the dice, hold them for a moment and try to image what the dice would do. Where they would lead me, and then I would guess the pattern and toss the dice. It wasn't always the most fruitful approach but it was mine. Otogi continued to up the difficulties of his rolls throughout the game whereas mine skipped around with the will of the dice. Otogi seemed to be commanding the dice instead of trying to follow them, more of a master than a player, and it seemed to be working for him. His rolls were almost never wrong, his score was racking up considerably faster than mine was, gaining points like an avalanche.

Unsurprisingly, he stomped me, managing to pull off one of the most difficult rolls in the game to seal him the win forty points ahead of me. I tallied the points, occasionally glancing over the pad of paper to smirk at Otogi, then going back to pretending to seriously crunch numbers. "Alright, and the winner is..." I paused for dramatic effect, as if the results weren't completely obvious, "Otogi!"

He pretended to preen for an audience of admirers, bowing shallowly from where he knelt on the floor, I clapped for him, giggling at the show he was making of it. Then he straightened up and a new look overtook his features, a hungry look, and he crawled close to me. I leaned back until my hands were on the floor behind me, my elbows bent a bit, with Otogi hovering over me like a snake coiled to strike. He looked me up and down, then pecked a kiss on my cheek and retreated "And to the winner go the spoils, where shall we have our date, dear?"

I swallowed and cast my eyes aside, nervousness painting my cheeks a flushed red. "I'm not sure, I've never really been on a date, where would you like to go?"

"There's a new movie out, would you like to go see it? It's scary," He winked again, suggestiveness dripping from his final words. I could only image where it could lead, but it was better than moping around here all day, now wasn't it?

"I would love to go, just say when."

Nine

I heard my ringtone sounding from somewhere in the folds of my blanket, piled on the ground where I had been flipping idly through dance magazines for the past hour or so, and fished through it until I located the source of the sound. Flipping open the device, I pressed it to my ear and rolled back onto my stomach, lifting a page of the issue I was on to get a better look at the article as I began the phone call.

"Hello, Anzu speaking."

"Anzu, I need some advice." Came Yuugi's little voice over the speaker. I immediately closed the magazine, using my finger as a book mark.

I was immediately concerned, Yuugi never came to me for advice, something must have been seriously off. "What's the problem, Yuugi? I'll try my best."

"Well, I've got a date tonight and I have no idea what to wear. Everything in my closet looks weird and bondage-y. Help."

I laughed, feeling my anxiety slip away a bit and told him I'd be over in five, hung up, and got ready to leave.

"Anzu, I look rediculous."

"Yuugi, you look HOT, what are you talking about?

Anzu had stuffed me into an outfit I had previously hidden at the back of my closet. Black tee with the sleeves jaggedly cut off, tight black jeans that hugged my legs in ways that made me hide them in the first place for modesty's sake, with some bracelets and arm bands she found, all topped off with black eye liner she brought with her. To say I felt a little extravagant compared to how I normally dressed was an understatement.

I worried my lip between my teeth, "Are you sure I don't look ridiculous?" I asked, twisting and adjusting then looking at Anzu, biting my lip again.

"I'm sure, and if you don't stop looking at me like that I'LL jump you," she stated, laughing. I felt my face color and looked hastily away.

"Well if your opinion is that positive, I'll go with this," I smirked, "but I'm not sure I want to encourage him any more than he already is, I can't believe he took that toast from me!" I had gushed like a bubbly school girl as soon as she had made it over. She responded with understandable female babble about how cute it was and all that bullshit while I vaguely felt I had been assaulted, but that's fine. It was cute in a creepy romance novel kind of way.

One glance at the clock and I was scrambling around like the white rabbit, The time counting down precariously to the moment when he would come to pick me up and at this rate, I wouldn't be ready.

I just barely made it, got the shop closed up, and grandfather safely to bed before I heard the soft knock at the door, alerting me to his presence. Anzu had gone home after I got my outfit picked out which meant that, with grandpa asleep, I was pretty much home alone. No one would know when I got back from my date. The idea was vaguely thrilling and a bit terrifying.

Otogi looked as he normally did, with maybe a bit more eye liner and his clothes were a tad more flattering. He brandished a single flower from behind his back and presented it to me, a wink, "A pretty flower for a pretty date, yes?"

I colored at his unexpected compliment. "You look good, too, Otogi."

"Thought I must say, your appearance tonight is more comparable to a chocolate than a flower," he leaned in close to my ear and whispered the next part, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at his proximity, "Sweet and... Delectable."

Oh my. What had I gotten myself into?

Otogi kissed like he played games, skillfully, confidently, and with utter domination. It was interesting, certainly not bad. He was actually a very good kisser, I can imagine he'd done it many times before. I, however? Not so much. Upon finding, on one of our subsequent dates he won from various bar bets, that I had never kissed anyone, a gleam struck his eye and he immediately stole my first kiss. I honestly couldn't complain, it was pretty hot. Well, I couldn't complain except that it wasn't Him. Oh well, a nice first kiss for the record.

Otogi was kind of pushy. His ante for the bets kept getting more and more serious before I finally had to draw the line. He apologized but I was honestly a bit scared.

Otogi recommended I look into bracelets or concealer for the scars on my wrists so I could wear short sleeved shirts again. It was a pretty good idea, I looked into the concealer and bought myself a bottle. Bracelets I already had. Now I didn't have to worry about my scars showing. They almost seemed to fade from my memory entirely. There was a small ache in my chest but I couldn't identify it. I honestly could hardly remember why I had felt upset enough to make the scars in the first place.

Otogi and I were very close, going steady. I followed in his wake as much as I could, and soaked in his praise like a sponge. It was such fun being around him, we played games. He liked to make the ante something sneaky, like a kiss that would try to turn into something more, but I usually stopped him before he got too far. He said I just made him want me, I would giggle or blush. I didn't tell Anzu about these times, I didn't want her to think bad of him, he was really a great guy. Very nice.

Otogi said he's never felt so emotionally attached to someone before, that I'm special, and all his. He says that's why our relationship is getting serious, because I'm special. And since we're so close now, we should be exclusive. There wasn't really anyone I was interested in so I didn't mind. We already were exclusive, but Otogi seemed to constantly believe we weren't. It was so silly of him, he'd get all worked up over nothing when I spent too much time talking to other people. It was silly, but I guess it was my fault.

I can see the frustration building in Otogi and it makes me worry a little.

Otogi has started asking me not to do certain things. They're simple enough. Don't interrupt him, don't ignore him, etc. I don't mind, I hardly even notice I have rules to follow because they're so easy to follow. That is... Until I break them.

Nine

"Did you... Hit me?"

"I'm sorry, but you shouldn't talk to me like that," he kissed the mark he made on my cheek and my heart warmed at the gentle affection, "you look so delectable with your cheeks red, Yuugi." The way he said my name made my heart flutter, such hunger.

I tried to pull away, slightly uncomfortable with the situation, and refocus on the game I had jokingly accused Otogi of cheating at playing, but he grabbed my upper arm and pulled me closer. "Otogi..."

"Yuugi, why don't you love me as much as I love you? I love you, but you know what I want, I do so many things for you, why don't you give me what I want?" He started kissing my cheek, to my jaw, to my neck. I struggled weakly, not having the energy to fight him over this again. "We're seniors in high school, Yuugi, and you're still a virgin. We've been dating for six months, Yuugi. Don't you think it's over due?"

I didn't think that at all, but arguing with him was most certainly not my favorite thing so I kept that to myself. I felt like six months wasn't enough time, but Otogi had been so nice to me and what did I know? I had never been in a relationship before, I was way out of my league here. "I... I don't know."

His hand gripped my arm harder, almost painfully, he towered over me, forcing me onto my back and bracing his forearm over my head. He kissed me, the hand holding my arm smoothing over my chest and stomach to the hem of my pants. "You should trust me, Yuugi. I know you better than anyone. Trust me, there's no one else you can go to that will get you like I do. Trust me, Yuugi."

I trusted him. We were close, very close. The relationship had gotten serious very fast and now we were half a year in, he knew pretty much everything. Everything except Atem. I had told him about the adventures we had gone on, to make me king of games, but I had left out everything we had done after battle city with the pharaoh. I was sure if he found out, he would be unbearable but he never talked about me with my friends so I wasn't worried about accidentally being found out.

I smiled and kissed him, "Okay, Otogi, I'm ready."

"Tell me you love me." He kissed my neck, near my collar bone, a sensitive spot for me.

"Mmm..."

He bit down, hard. I let out a surprised cry and writhed underneath his weight but he had me pinned, straddling me. After a moment he licked the bite mark, soothing the agitation. I could feel him coiled tight like a spring. Or a predator.

"Isn't this exciting, Yuugi? Don't you like this? You should. I know you, I know this is something you'd like, isn't it? You're quite dirty aren't you? Under your sweet little facade. But that's something only I get to see because no one else deserves this. No one else deserves to know you like I do, so you shouldn't let them. You're mine. Now say it." The last part was growled in a way that I assumed was supposed to be seductive.

"I love you, Otogi. I'm yours."

Ten

"Not today, Otogi... I'm just not feeling it." His chest was pressed to my back, his lips to my neck and his hands to my stomach. He was doing all of the things he normally did before I consented, but tonight I didn't want it. It was the anniversary of the ceremonial duel, the day when I had lost Him. I probably wouldn't have remembered if it weren't for Anzu, which sickened me to no end. How could I have forgotten him? He had been my everything for years, I was so destroyed after losing him, what had changed? Otogi. He had come into my life and I had forgotten about Atem. We'd been dating for almost a year now, school had let out and I spent my extra time with Otogi, placating him to ensure he didn't suspect me of cheating. He was happy so long as he knew what I was doing, it wasn't unreasonable.

I spun around and faced him, perhaps I didn't need to be torn up over losing Atem. I had Otogi, he had made me forget, cured me of my bottomless pain. I should be indebted to him, and honestly I wasn't even sure someone as in attractive and awkward as myself was worthy of someone as attractive and amazing as him. I was completely indebted to him, just for spending his time with me.

Before I could actually say anything, he slammed me against the nearest wall and kissed me. My head was throbbing, pain lanced up my spine but Otogi's hands were distracting me from the pain. He pinned my arms over my head with one hand and the other was at the button of my pants. He kissed a line from my from my lips to my jaw and then onto my neck. There was already a bruise on my shoulder from the countless times he'd bitten me, but he sunk his teeth in once more and I screamed. Otogi quickly moved his hand from my wrists to cover my mouth. I figured it was him trying to keep me from waking his parents, and then he pinched my nose closed as well.

"God, you're so fucking hot. I fantasize about you, Yuugi. I want to bring those fantasies to life with you, you're special."

My vision was getting foggy and I only vaguely noticed Otogi removing my pants. I was starting to panic from lack of oxygen and weakly batted against him, but then I noticed movement just over Otogi's shoulder. My eyes tried to focus, but the image only became slightly clearer. Despite this, I instantly recognized the sweet smiling face over his shoulder.

It was Him. Here. Now. Smiling at me like nothing was wrong, like I wasn't slowly suffocating and hadn't been in the arms of someone else, or that I wasn't dreaming of him when I should have belonged to Otogi mind and body. I deserved this. I deserved to be punished, I was horrid. I should have been able to move on from Atem to make Otogi happy but I was selfishly still obsessed with him, even seeing him now. I should have been in charge of my delusions enough to not daydream about a hopeless crush I once had on a boy who would have never noticed me if he weren't trapped in my body.

Regardless of all of these reasons to forget him, to turn aside and accept the punishment I deserved, I reached out to him. He swept around the side of Otogi and my eyes followed, a soft whimper escaping my throat. He drew his soft fingers over my cheek with the delicacy of an artist admiring his own work. I could hear Otogi saying something but I was too focused on Atem to care. He was right here. I could touch him, tell him everything, love him. A sharp slap brought me back to the present, and Atem slowly faded away.

"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, WHORE." Otogi roared. His voice was fuzzy and I think I may have felt tears prick my eyes but it all faded to black, finally. I could finally be with the gently caressing darkness I had always loved.

I awoke with a fuzzy head and a bad taste in my mouth, which I couldn't close for some reason. Why... There was something in my mouth. I tried to remove it but my hands wouldn't move. They were tied to something solid and unrelenting. Confusion and panic washed through me. I pulled on the restraints on my wrists once more but they wouldn't budge an inch, I couldn't slip my hands out either. I opened my eyes and the room spun before coming in with a fuzzed over focus.

A voice floated to my ears from somewhere across the dark room, soft and slow, predatory. "I see you're awake, little one. I told you, I wanted to make my fantasies of you come to life. I want to see you writhe beneath me. We were too soft-core before. I wasn't showing you sex the way it was supposed to be done, the exciting way." Otogi came into my field of vision and I could see a gleam in his eye that scared me a bit.

But what did I have to fear? This was Otogi. He loved me, he knew me better than anyone. I'm sure I had just done something wrong, or maybe this was another one of those relationship things I was supposed to like but didn't because I was just wrong. Either way, what did I have to fear? He loved me, he'd punish me if I deserved it and pleasure me as he saw fit. I had nothing to worry about, just go with this.

A cool breeze brushed my chest with soft fingers and I realized my clothes were gone, all except for my boxers. I supposed he had taken them off while I was sleeping. Perhaps I had spent the night at his house again, for I couldn't recall what had happened before I fell asleep.

He moved closer and kissed my stomach, trailed open-mouth kisses to my nipple which he bit down on, hard. I never really got used to this sensation and it made me scream and whimper each time from the pain. I felt him break skin and then lick the blood that I assumed would have broken free. Satisfied, he moved over to the other and repeated himself, eliciting another smothered cry from myself. Moving lower, he pulled my boxers off and kissed my thigh before biting into the soft, sensitive flesh. I released another strangled exclamation, trying my best not to thrash my way out of his hold, since my legs were free. He bit down on another spot on my inner thigh, then again and again and again until my thighs throbbed and a sweat had broken out on my forehead from trying to scream around the gag.

Finally he left my poor brutalized thighs and knelt between the marks he had left, spreading my legs further apart. He leaned over me and grabbed something off of the table beside my head, which I found was a bottle of lube he coated himself in. There was no preparation, which, in my opinion was never thorough enough anyways. It always hurt, but never this bad. I felt like I was being torn, skin ripping, muscles straining. I couldn't relax to make it hurt less, the pain was clenching my muscles of their own accord.

"Oh gods, Yuugi, yes. You're so good for a fuck." With that, he began. It tore me, I screamed, choked on the rag. It was excruciating. Lances of white-hot pain flew through my vision and I tried to grip something with my hands, anything, but ended up just digging my nails into my own palms. My heels dug into the mattress, my back arched, trying to gain purchase against the pain, to escape from it. I could hear him slamming into me repeatedly, making small sounds from the pleasure he was experiencing. At least he was enjoying this, I couldn't understand why people in a relationship would like this but I assumed it was normal. Relationships just seemed more and more awful, why were people so desperate for this?

He came, the hot liquid coating my torn insides and bringing the pain anew. I screamed, he grunted with his release and froze for a moment, eyes closed. My chest was heaving from the difficulty of breathing around the rag and the pain. Finally he collapsed next to me, pulling out and giving me some of the relief I had been wishing for. His breathing was ragged as well but there was a smile on his face while there were tears on mine.

Before he fell asleep, he whispered, "I knew you'd make a good sex slave."

I tried to sleep but I spent most of the time he slept laying awake feeling wave after wave of pain and disgust in myself roll through me. I must have done something truly awful to deserve this.

I spent my days smearing concealer over the marks so people wouldn't ask questions. I just didn't want to speak to them about it, it would upset him. He didn't like me talking to people for too long or about him. I flinched when people reached for me, expecting to be punished for something else I had done. Otogi had done THAT to me a few times weekly since the first time. It always hurt, my skin feeling torn and dirty. No one would want me after all of this, but that's okay because I had Otogi. He loved me. He really was kind. He was. He was.

I promise.

I sat in the corner of my room, shaking, blood still seeping out of me slowly. I had stripped down, the once forgotten razor still held in my hand, blood dripping slowly from it. The lines on my thighs were mesmerizing. Circular marks of teeth riddling the canvas I had painted my lines on. Maybe that was why I didn't enjoy the things Otogi did. He was circles and I was lines. The thought made me giggle, that something so trivial would be destroying my relationship. No, it was me, but I doubt it was because the marks I made were lines. It was because I was broken. He had tried to fix me, teach me how to love, but it wasn't working. So I had to be punished. My phone buzzed from beside me, Otogi.

-Yuugi what are you doing right now?

-Sitting in my room

I sat there in silence for a while, thinking. Otogi spent a lot of his time punishing me, and while he seemed to enjoy it, I was sure that there was probably someone else who he could love that would love him right. Someone he wouldn't have to punish so much. Maybe that would make him happier.

-Otogi, maybe we should break up. You have to punish me a lot... Maybe you can find someone that will be better. I just want you to be happy.

Strangely, I didn't feel anything sending the message. Maybe that was because I was helping Otogi. That must be it, otherwise I would surely feel my heart being ripped out the second time and it should hurt so much worse because this time I had been loved back.

What the fuck are you talking about, Yuugi. You'd best knock it off, this isn't funny. I will fuck you up if you try to leave me. You belong to me, you can't leave, you fucking slut. I will hunt you down if you try to escape me.

Tremors of fear ran down my spine. I'd never seen Otogi mad like this before. I didn't want to see him anymore. I was scared. I didn't want him to punish me again. It hurt. Everything hurt. I couldn't handle being punished again, but I didn't even know what I was doing wrong anymore so I couldn't fix it. I was just too broken for love. I couldn't do it right, I didn't deserve it. I had to hide. Maybe he would forget about me.

I sent a message to Anzu asking if I could stay at her place for a while. Otogi didnt know where she lived, I was pretty sure, and then I figure out something better from there. She responded that it was totally fine, and tacked on an "are you okay?" I smiled, Anzu was always so caring of me. I packed a few things hurriedly, and left out the back door to take the winding paths through backyards to get to Anzu's house. It took a bit longer but it would prevent Otogi from accidentally seeing me on the street.

Two houses down from Anzu's, so close to freedom, I felt arms encircle me. One around my arms and waist, the other over my mouth and nose with a funny smelling cloth. The world faded to strange, bleached colors then to black.

Eleven

I woke up like I had the first time, panicking because now I was really going to get it. I hadn't asked Otogi if I could go. He would be so mad, and right after I sent that message. Oh god, he had caught me trying to escape him. He would be livid, I couldn't even imagine the pain I was in for. I struggled against my bonds and tears escaped my eyes.

"I see you're awake. I debated just punishing you immediately but I wanted you awake for this. I wanted to see, hear, feel you in all of this pain so you know what you did was wrong and you'll never try to leave me again. That was stupid of you. What we have is special, I'm a master and you are a willing, subservient piece of ass for me to ravish to my heart's content. But this time, I'm not going to let you go. You're going to stay here with me where I know you're not cheating on me, you slut."

Then it began. It hurt. Oh, how the blood flowed, the pain stung, burned, devoured me. Minutes, seconds, hours bled together until he was satiated. Then he would stop for a while. Sometimes I got bread, some water, basic needs were fulfilled, but I remained there for so long, I was sure at least two days bled past. Oozing from me almost as slowly as the blood did.

I was rendered a blubbering mess, apologizing profusely, begging for mercy, anything to get the pain to stop. But it didn't. It would pause long enough for me to feel the after effects then it would start anew. I screamed so much, I lost my voice.

Finally, after a few days, Otogi came back into the room, to conclude another small pause in the pain, with something new: a candle. He dripped the hot wax on my skin, slowly, torturously. I tried to scream out but nothing made it past my lips. He started getting frustrated. Asked why I was being so silent. He hit my face told me to scream, to tell him how much it hurt so he knew I understood the punishment, but my words and screams died on my lips. I was broken. He shook with rage, so much that he accidentally dropped the candle. The smell of burning plastic assaulted my senses, alerting me to the fact that the carpet was on fire. He stared at it for a moment, and then a smile slowly spread over his face like a disease. He looked at me with a wicked gleam in his eye.

"I planned on moving out anyways. Bye Yuugi." And with that, he left me, strapped down, naked defenseless, in a room slowly being devoured by flames similar to how I had been devoured by pain: slowly at first but then with more momentum and speed as the first moments passed. I briefly wondered what I had done wrong this time, to warrant my death, but I knew. I knew it was because of Him. Because I had loved Atem so fervently while I should have belonged solely to Otogi, I was now going to be given the ultimate punishment: death alone. I mulled over the thought of someone coming to save me, but if they hadn't found me yet, I didn't think they would ever come. Otogi had probably used my phone to erase the worries from my friends and family, erase me from my friends and family.

A tear traced down my cheek. I wanted Atem. Even if I had to die, I wanted to see him once more, to tell him I loved him, even though I shouldn't. He was my everything... Maybe I would see him again in the afterlife. The thought made me perk up a bit. Perhaps dying wasn't so bad if I could see him again, be with him forever. It might all be worth it if in the end I got to be with him finally.

I sealed myself to my fate, feeling the room heat up unbearably as the flames ate the curtains and licked at the disheveled covers of the bed. My mind chose this time to fuck with me again. A cool hand settled on my face and I flinched, trying to shy away from the touch, but then a voice breathed into my ear, "I'm here, Yuugi, don't worry."

It was him. Unmistakably him. Why was my mind doing this to me? He wasn't even real... I was just crazy, creating the perfect match for myself, my savior, but this time I wouldn't be fooled. There was no way he was real. So I tried to ignore the sensations. I would be dead soon anyways, and then I could be enveloped in the sweet, sweet darkness forever.

I hoped death would come soon.

I checked the time again, checked the inbox of my phone, beginning to feel the edges of worry curling inside of me. Where was Yuugi? It certainly didn't take long to get to my house from his, we lived quite close together. Even if he were coming from Otogi's house, it shouldn't have taken this long, and the fact that he had asked to hide out at my house worried me greatly. I had been seeing worrisome signs coming from his relationship with Otogi, bruises and flinching he tried to cover up. His eyes had dulled and he didn't speak much anymore, seldom smiled, never laughed.

I decided to text him to ask if he was okay, and when he would be arriving. After a few moments, I got a message back saying he was fine and had changed his mind about coming over. My nerves were soothed but only mildly. I messaged him to say that he could always talk to me if he wanted to talk.

-I don't want to talk, and I certainly don't want to talk to you. I have Otogi.

My heart sunk, this relationship wasn't good. I needed to talk to him, understand everything going on with them so I could help. He may never return my love, but I could still help him, make him happy. The only problem would be actually getting him to speak about it. Yuugi shut down whenever we brought up his relationship with Otogi, not that he ever spoke to us often since they had started dating. He didn't hang out anymore unless Otogi was with him, and then Otogi was not only possessive of little Yuugi but also managed to seal him off from the conversation every time so that Yuugi would just sit silently, back a little from the group.

I could go see him, if he was at his house. Maybe if I got to speak to him without the presence of Otogi, I could get some more information out of him. I got myself ready and then headed out for Yuugi's home. I was jittery the whole way, having to clench my hands around my sleeves to keep from fidgeting with everything.

The game shop was open, as always, the familiar face of Yuugi's grandfather monitoring the happenings from behind the small counter. He smiled at me when I came through the door, greeting me fondly. I asked him if Yuugi was home and he shook his head, a bit perplexed, told me Yuugi had gone over to my house. He had seemed pretty upset. I told Grandpa that he texted me to say he changed his mind about coming over to my house so I came to check on him.

Where was Yuugi? His grandfather decided to call him. There was no answer from his phone so Grandpa left a message saying that he and I were worried. I got a message on my phone soon after.

-Tell Grandfather I'm not coming home. I'm running away, and don't try to look for me.

I stared at the message, mute, not comprehending it for a moment. My hands starter to shake, tears slipped down my cheeks. Not trusting my voice, I passed the phone wordlessly to Grandpa. Upon reading the message, a worry settled onto the scored forehead of the old man. He started pacing, I could see how hard he was having to try to control himself but he was still calculating. Grandpa never changed, he would be able to figure this out, Grandpa could figure out anything.

"Anzu, read through the message again and tell me if you see anything strange." I almost missed his words, he was facing away from me. I scanned through the message once more, trying not to be hit anew with the devastation. "Anzu, don't you see it? He called me 'Grandfather'. Yuugi never calls me grandfather, we're close. He calls me grandpa. It's knee-jerk by now. He wouldn't just call me something else because he's texting, especially since its not a shortened version, it's longer. Someone else typed that message, and I've got a pretty good idea of who it was."

We left immediately for Otogi's house, but he wouldn't let us in, just repeatedly insisted Yuugi had not gone to his house. "But if he were here, he wouldn't have been able to run away so easily. You guys call yourselves care-takers of him. Looks like you've done a terrible job." With that, he slammed the door in our faces and Grandpa was pinching the bridge of his nose, barely containing his rage.

He suggested we go to the police and report the situation.

"What do you mean that you can't do anything? My grandson is probably stuck in the basement of his psychotic boyfriend!"

"Do you have proof he's being held against his will? Is there even reason to suspect he's in this boyfriend's basement in the first place? How do we know he didn't just go to the park for a couple hours? He could be back by sundown. Maybe he just wanted some time with this boyfriend, you don't seem very approving, maybe he felt constricted. We can't file a missing persons until 48 hours. You can come back then or when you have proof of something else. Until then, there's nothing we can do."

Grandpa's face was very red as we left the police station.

Eleven

The next few days crawled past in a haze of worry and frustration. The gang finally got back together as everyone offered their help in trying to find Yuugi. Otogi spoke to none of us; when confronted, he would get angry and tell us it was all our fault Yuugi had run away.

The most frustrating part of the whole ordeal was the phone call Grandpa got shortly after we contacted everyone upon getting back from the station. I figured it would be one of the guys calling back for some reason, but Grandpa's face showed confusion.

"Hello, Isis, I what a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting a call from you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Isis... The woman from the Egyptian exhibit? What could she possibly want with us? Not that I didn't want to speak with her, she had kindly aided us in our attempt to appease Yuugi's mental mission to return the spirit of the puzzle home, I just expected her to be done with us. The look on grandfather's face was suddenly angry.

"Look here, we're grateful you helped my grandson fulfill the mission to return the spirit, but I will not allow you to torment him with remembering his delusions. That's just sick, you should be ashamed. I would gladly try to help a traveller, but you don't need to make up ridiculous stories to try to get my help and insult my grandson. We're currently quite busy trying to find the poor boy and you're distracting us with your ridiculous lies." He listened again, expression shifting slightly. "If you think he can help, sure,he can come help us on the search, thank you for your concern. When should I expect the boy?" A beat, "Tomorrow morning? That early? He's not some psycho fan, is he?... I see. I'll have one of the kids pick him up, then. It will probably be Honda, you remember him, yes? What should I have Honda look for? I see. I'll inform him. I shall speak to you later."

"What did Isis want?"

"She has a boy who's awoken amongst the rubble of a pyramid with no memory until a few hours ago when he awoke and apparently remembered Yuugi. He said he wanted to see the boy he remembered, that he knew they were close but nothing else about it. She hopes seeing Yuugi will jog some more of his memories so she's sending him here and he should arrive in the morning. Honda will have to pick him up from the airport. She claimed he was the reincarnation of the spirit that lived in the puzzle."

The story was plausible but strange all the way up to the end. How dare she try to take advantage of Yuugi's mental state at such a time? Sure, this boy deserved to get his memory back but Yuugi couldn't handle such disappointment over the imaginary spirit again. He had almost lost it last time, and this time there was the added stress of his disappearance and Otogi. Surely Otogi would throw a fit over Yuugi being so important to someone other than himself.

I sighed. We were currently treading water anyways, perhaps this new boy could be helpful in some way in our search for our beloved Yuugi. At least there was a chance we could help SOMEONE.

Let the morning bring what comes.

Twelve

"Yuugi, how the fuck did you get so tan?" Jounouchi shouted from the back door of the game shop, past myself and Grandpa where we stood at the door, held open for the strangely familiar stranger on the front mat. Honda had already pushed passed us and gone into the basement, a barely contained anger on his face.

"What do you mean? Is Yuugi here? That's his name, right, that's how you pronounce it? I... I need to see him. I'm sure Isis would have told you about my situation but I want to remember. I woke up saying his name, seeing his face. I feel like I need to reach him, to see him. I don't remember him so much as I feel the memory of him. I know he's important. I just need to see him."

Grandpa looked stunned so I answered for him, "Yuugi has actually gone missing as of yesterday afternoon. We think he may be with his boyfriend but his boyfriend is being quite hostile in our attempts to find Yuugi. The police won't do anything because he hasn't been gone long enough and we just don't know what to do..." My eyes were already hot and inflamed from crying so much, but I felt the sting of tears coming regardless.

Concern passed over the man's features and he reached a hand out towards me, but didn't touch me, "Anzu, it's okay. We'll find Yuugi, I promise. Is there anywhere else he might be? Or any reason to suspect this boyfriend is of less than perfect character? Maybe we can get something done if we have a reason for suspecting this guy."

"...I never told you my name."

Silence reigned down upon us as the stranger and everyone took in exactly what had happened. He should not have known who I was, I doubted Isis even really knew who I was, let alone speak about me enough for him to just unquestionably recognize me as he did. He had to have actually known me and begin to remember. But I know I had never seen this man before, despite the fact that his look strikingly resembled that of Yuugi. Their hair was similar, but this man's was a bit more striking and more red like his eyes. He was noticeably taller than Yuugi, stronger-looking, more confident, as well as considerably more tan-and by that I mean actually tan.

I shook myself of my daze and straightened up, "We need to find Yuugi. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, you said you wanted into that guy's house, right? We need evidence. Enough to convince the police there's reason to suspect Yuugi might not be there innocently. Does he keep a diary? Can we access his text messages? Anything?"

"I can ask the phone company if there's a way to read Yuugi's messages without his phone," Offered Grandpa, already moving to the basement of the game shop, where they lived. "Someone watch the store for me while I'm making the call."

"I've got the shop, you boys go check Yuugi's room again to see if there's anything we can use to find him." I said, settling down in the chair behind the counter and orienting myself with the various items here for making transactions.

His room. I still didn't remember anything about him besides his face and name, but the room felt familiar. Tingles raced from my fingertips whenever I touched something in his room, so I stood in the center, looking at everything, trying not to drown in the overwhelming sensation of strange familiarity. The other two boys were casually sifting through things in the room, when I spotted it.

The deck.

I could feel the pull of those cards, it felt like they belonged with me, like they had been in my hand so long they held a piece of me. I reached out, reverently, for the forty pieces of something important. I hadn't figured out what exactly they meant to me, but I could almost taste the understanding I was so close to it, dangling just beyond the reach of my fingers.

Jounouchi looked up, "I'm surprised he even kept that deck together. I would have expected him to decompose it, maybe even destroy the cards, because of how wrecked he was when we got back. He really thought that imaginary spirit was a part of him, and he had sent it to the afterlife. It killed me to see the little guy so torn up, but he had to move on, so I let him mourn the loss on his own, like a man. Looking back, maybe if we had tried to help him adjust from the beginning, he wouldn't have fallen into this mess." The teen looked down, to the side, biting his lip, then went back to sifting through Yuugi's belongings.

I had frozen where I was while he spoke, letting the words wash over me, hoping something would come back, but nothing happened. There was no revelation, no sudden spur of remembrance, just blank words scrolling through my mind. I reached out for the cards again, finally landing my fingers on the smooth back of the deck. The tingling sensation grew, becoming painful and going straight to my chest. I grabbed the deck, and fell to my knees on the floor, clutching it to my chest. Tears welled in my eyes as a distant memory surfaced, clawing its way out of the murky depths of my past and flowing past my eyes like a burned film reel. Pieces were jumbled, missing, foggy.

-(warning: feels)-

Yuugi stood in front of me, about twenty paces out, a duel disk on his arm and sorrow on his face. He had one monster on the field and I had none, but I had my trump card, I could beat him, and then I would get to stay. Stay with him forever. He was good, but I was better. I had to be, so I could earn my right to live with him forever. If I wasn't strong enough, I would pay with years of loneliness in death so I had to be stronger.

"I activate Monster Reborn, and special summon Slifer the Sky Dragon. I'm sorry, Yuugi, but you haven't surpassed me, yet."

"I knew you would do that; I unseal the mystical box to reveal the card neither of us can use in the duel." His voice was steady, but I could hear the ache building in it. My eyes widened.

He didn't.

He couldn't have.

Could he?

Out of the sealed box, looking so much like the one my puzzle had come out of, came Monster Reborn. He had done it, he had seen through my ultimate strategy from the first few turns, from last night when he had built his deck. My Monster Reborn and Slifer faded from the field, leaving myself wide open and my turn over.

Yuugi's eyes met mine, staring at me like he could see right through me and the facade I worked so hard to erect. "Forgive me, Mou Hitori no Boku. Attack his life points directly!"

I was hit squarely with the final blow of the match, my life points dropped to zero and Yuugi dropped to his knees. He covered his face with his hands and his shoulders shook with silent sobs. I went to him, knelt down, "You should not be on your knees, winners should stand tall and proud, Aibou." He looked at me like a broken man, almost not seeing me through the haze of his own distress, but I pulled him to his feet. I vaguely heard crying and words from behind me, but all that mattered was Aibou. I wanted to remember him forever, always remember how strong and brave he had been. If I had to be defeated, I was glad it had been by him.

He stepped back amongst the others, tears on his face but a fierce smile plastered over them. He gave me a thumbs up, as did Jounouchi. I turned and went to the door, spoke the name I finally remembered, and went through it, holding my arm out and my thumb up to those I was leaving behind. The name rung in my ears.

"Atem." I spoke the name without thinking, looking up from where I had collapsed on the floor with the cards still firmly clutched in my hands, pressing them into my chest. My face felt wet and I realized I had cried while remembering.

"What?" I wasn't sure which one spoke.

"That's my name. I remember. I remember when he beat me in the final duel, before I went to the afterlife. I spoke my name to open the door. You all were there, you remember, don't you?"

"Do you mean the ceremonial duel Yuugi had with the imaginary spirit in order to get rid of him? I remember watching Yuugi duel something he could see, but there was nothing there. He adjusted his life points to imaginary blows, and attacked imaginary creatures. When he decided he had won, he started crying and finally he said that the spirit had gone through some door or something, but it was just a wall. Then the pyramid collapsed. The whole thing was just a little too crazy for me, watching Yuugi be so schizophrenic, but we went along with it, as long as it meant he could forget the spirit he made up."

The words he was saying didn't make sense, it couldn't be true. I remembered. I remembered dueling Yuugi, moving to the afterlife, the heartbreak I had felt going through the door. How could he say it wasn't real? That I wasn't real? It had to be a joke. He was mistaken. I existed, I am REAL. I'm right here. I may not have a past that I remember, but surely I had one, one in which I existed just as much as I do now. My hands were shaking. I didn't know how to convince him that I had been dueling Yuugi even if he couldn't see me, I didn't even know how to convince myself. I didn't know what to believe anymore.

I just wanted to see him again.

Pain shot through me, white-hot and completely random. My back arched and a cry tore from my mouth. I must have dropped the cards because when I grabbed my head, my hands were empty. Wave after wave of pain slammed through me. But not just pain, there was disgust, self-loathing, fear, hopelessness. I may have shouted something but I couldn't hear over the pain in my own head. Ghost hands touched me, pulling at my skin and my senses. I curled into a ball on my side and shook, wanting the touches to stop. I felt a sharp pain strike my thigh, I felt like I had been bitten. This was too much. Why was this happening? I screamed again.

Slowly, the pain distanced itself and faded away, leaving me shaking and sweating on the floor of Yuugi's bedroom. There were faces above me, but I didn't recognize them for a few beats. Finally, I came back from the turmoil I was in, plucking the memory of these faces from somewhere. Anzu. Jounouchi. Honda. Even Grandpa.

"Are you alright?" Anzu was speaking, her lips moved out of sync with her voice, but that was probably just myself thinking slowly. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know. I was just sitting here, and then everything hurt. Pain came from everywhere. I have no idea what caused it. It felt like there were hands on me... I felt fear but I know I wasn't actually afraid, hopelessness from nowhere."

Anzu bit her lip, looking at me with concern, but Grandpa interjected. "I found out how to read Yuugi's messages on the computer, and I printed out the conversation he had been having with Otogi yesterday afternoon. Take a look." He handed the paper to Anzu. She scanned the words, and pressed her hand to her mouth, wordlessly passed the page to Jounouchi. He turned red, clenched his fists around the page, then passed the slightly crumpled sheet to me.

-Yuugi what are you doing right now?

-Sitting

-Otogi, maybe we should break up. You have to punish me a lot... Maybe you can find someone that will be better. I just want you to be happy.

-What the fuck are you talking about, Yuugi. You'd best knock it off, this isn't funny. I will fuck you up if you try to leave me. You belong to me, you can't leave, you fucking slut. I will hunt you down if you try to escape me.

Anger rose in my gut, burning slow but fiercely. How dare this bastard speak to Yuugi like that? Yuugi surely didn't deserve such treatment, Yuugi deserved to be revered. All of this from his boyfriend, even. How had Yuugi ended up with someone like this? He should have had so much better. It wasn't Yuugi that deserved to be punished, it was this bastard for laying a hand on my savior, my light, my Hikari, and I would be providing divine punishment for his trespasses against mine and Yuugi's hearts.

He would be my opponent, and I would destroy him.

The room darkened, shadows caressing the lights and making them shiver with the dark promises, flickering on and off as they were tempted by the luscious swaths of shadow. Darkness kissed the tan skin of the strange man who had entered the Mutou residence, enshrouded him like a sinister cloak. The red of his eyes darkened with anger, going from a lovely wine color to bloody, and with the look on his face I couldn't imagine blood was going to be too far out of the question. He was livid. I had been angry at the disgusting way Otogi apparently treated Yuugi, but I don't think I would ever be capable of the pure rage pouring off of this man right now. His hands were shaking but he still held the paper in front of his face. We all watched, he had to have finished reading by now, but the explosion I expected from the final line never came. I thought he might punch something, but he didn't. Just closed his eyes and held the paper out to me.

"'Run, run, run, you can't run from me. You can't hide. Give up, I'm going to get you. It's too late to try to escape me, my whore, you're my property and I always collect. I'll kill you if you even think about cheating on me, slut. No one will want you, not after I'm through with you. Your life is going to be a living hell, and you'll never leave it or me.'" His voice shook like the page did as he quoted the final message Otogi sent to Yuugi. When he opened his eyes and looked at me, I almost wished he hadn't. I would have been okay to see anger there, to see anything in those eyes, but there was nothing. He had schooled his face into impassiveness, but it wasn't just that. His once beautifully colored eyes were now inky, as dark as the shadows that coated the room, flowing from his soul. It scared me, paid semblance to a lit bomb but we all had blinders on. No one knew when the explosion would come, or where from, but we all knew it would be destructive.

"Where is Otogi?"

None of us could stop him, he moved like the sea, pushing passed us without a second glance, washing through and around us with his cold, dark, anger until no one even tried to stop him. He was terrifying, god help whomever he might accidentally expend anger upon on his search for Otogi. None of us gave him the address, but I didn't doubt for a moment that he wouldn't be able to find Yuugi. Nothing could stop him right now.

"Young man, come back here. Let's think about this rationally. You don't even know where you're going. What do you think you're going to do? Wander in the streets until you see Yuugi? You don't even have a plan." We were all shocked at the fact that Yuugi's Grandpa even managed to speak, we couldn't, let alone the fact that he appeared to have halted the war path of the darkness.

The words in response almost sounded like a growl, low and threatening, "We can't just stand here and hope he falls back into our hands, who knows what's happening to him right now? That bastard... He will be my opponent. I will destroy him with the darkness of his own heart, the darkness of these games he's been playing with Yuugi. It disgusts me."

"We all want to make Otogi pay for this, but our first priority is getting Yuugi back safely. Now that we have evidence, we should go to the police, they may be able to help us now. Once we do that, we will go from there. You four stay here, watch the shop, and watch him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I'll speak to the officer, and report back with any information I get. Good luck."

Yuugi's Grandpa brushed passed the young man, took the page from his hand, and left the living quarters of the building. The bells jingled as he left the shop. I followed behind him and resumed my duties as store keeper in his stead, leaving the strange man standing in the doorway to Yuugi's bedroom looking helpless and frustrated.

Thirteen

The news wasn't great. While the new evidence provided reason to suspect Yuugi may have been harassed by Otogi, he hadn't been missing long enough for it to actually be a case and there was no definitive proof Otogi had actually kidnapped him. It could have just been a threat. They were working on getting a warrant to search Otogi's home but it may take a day or two, depending on whether it was submitted with a missing persons report or before it and to which judge it went to. Basically, there was nothing we could do until we passed the threshold for missing persons and then it would still be a waiting game for the search warrant to process so Otogi's home could be searched.

The young man told us to call him Atem, said he had finally remembered it. Apparently, Isis and Malik had not told him his name, hadn't called him anything the almost month he had been staying with them since he awoke in the ruins of the pyramid. He didn't speak much while we waited, just sat in various chairs or wandered the empty halls of the home. Jounouchi and Honda went home for the night, but I offered to stay until Grandpa got back. He had been tied up with some paper work at the police station, then had to run some errands for the shop as well as the home. He said he probably wouldn't be back until late.

I closed the shop, locked the front door, and made dinner. Atem and I sat in silence as we ate, one portion wrapped up to be put in the fridge for Grandpa when he got home. Atem seemed so small sitting in the chair across from me at the table, picking at his food, looking so helpless and distraught. He had inadvertently sat in Yuugi's chair, the one he always sat at when eating at the table. Surely it was an accident, but with how similar he looked to Yuugi, in his seat and wearing some of Yuugi's spare clothing, I almost could have mistaken Atem for Yuugi. My heart squeezed, wishing Yuugi were home and safe. Atem pushed away from the table and left the kitchen, headed further into the living space.

He only finished half of the plate.

I finished eating, cleaned up after the meal and put away Grandpa's plate. It was getting late and Grandpa still wasn't home; I was getting tired but I didn't want to leave Atem alone in a strange home while he was obviously so distressed. I leaned against the counter, head in my hands and allowed myself to sink to the ground. Tears seeped past my fingers pressed against my face as I allowed myself to fall apart. I should have gone to get him. Met him half way to my house. Should have talked to him more, should have paid more attention to how his relationship with Otogi had soured. God, why did I let it get this far? There were a million times I could have intervened in the almost year-long relationship where I had chose to just let it go unchecked. Minutes passed as I sifted through every moment in my memory that I could have noticed how bad it had gotten but just brushed off. There were so many.

The back door opened, Grandpa must be home. Foot steps approached me where I sat huddled on the floor. "Your dinner is in the fridge, Grandpa." He stopped in front of me, I looked up, hating how I must look right now.

Otogi stood over me, thunder on his face. I didn't even react, just froze. How had he gotten in here? Had I accidentally left the back door unlocked? Shit, what do I do?

"Why the fuck are you in Yuugi's house? Have you two been having an affair? I knew it. I knew that bitch was cheating on me. He was keeping secrets. I thought I had separated you two so you couldn't steal him away from me, but I guess I didn't try hard enough. Oh well, there's no way you can take him from me now."

I stood up clumsily, grabbing onto the counter for support and pointing one finger at him, "Don't talk about Yuugi like that, he gave you everything, he loved you and you treated him like garbage. You're a disgusting human being, how dare you treat him like that? Do you get off on causing him distress? You've taken him, haven't you? Hidden him somewhere? Where the fuck is Yuugi, Otogi?! What have you-"

"SHUT UP, YOU BITCH" There was a sharp reverberation at the impact and I touched my face, laying sprawled on the kitchen floor. I felt actual fear looking up at him towering over me, no knowing what he would do next. I wanted to scream but my voice had frozen along with the rest of me. All I could do was wait for what came next.

Otogi knelt beside me, ran his fingers over the mark that was surely appearing where he had struck me. There was no emotion in his face as he glanced at my eyes and then around the kitchen, leaned over to open a drawer

Pulled out a knife.

My eyes widened. He drew it across the skin of my cheek, pressing down about halfway through to break skin. I flinched and he wagged his finger at me, made a noise, "Two for flinching." I tried to move away, pushing on the floor with my hands, trying to dig in my heels to escape, but he latched his free hand onto my upper arm and rooted me. He trailed the blade down the side of my neck this time, I started hyperventilating.

The room darkened, the lights spazzing out, a voice drifted from the other end of the room but I couldn't make out the words in my current state. Otogi spun around, clutching the knife and trying to locate the voice. I moved to the outside edge of the room, watching from a safe distance how Atem was going to handle this. Atem stood straight, proud, and unarmed against a maniacal Otogi with a quite sharp kitchen knife.

"Anzu, leave the room. Tend to the cuts on your face. I don't want you to see this." I touched the cut on my cheek, pulled my hand back and saw blood on my fingers. I wanted to stay and help Atem but the look on his face sent me scrambling out of the room. I wasn't going to stand against him in a mood like that.

There was a teen, younger than me, but not by much, hovering over Anzu in the kitchen. There was a knife in his hand. Pressed to her face. Rage swept through me. I had come down after hearing shouting from the kitchen. "Back away from her, I'll be your opponent." He stood and turned, looking at me half-crazed, but there was a calculative gleam in his eyes, I shouldn't underestimate him. "Anzu, leave the room. Tend to the cuts on your face. I don't want you to see this." She scurried out of the room, leaving myself and the intruder alone.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. Shadows licked my skin, hungry for a game, hungry for flesh. They would get their spoils soon enough, first I wanted information.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you in Yuugi's house? How many people has he been fucking? How dare he!"

"I believe I should be asking who you are and why you're in Yuugi's house. You're trespassing." I narrowed my eyes. "You're the Otogi character aren't you? The one who's been abusing Yuugi." I tried to keep the awe out of my voice when I said Yuugi's name, I really did, but judging by the way Otogi's face went red, I doubt I did a very good job. Oh well, this was going to turn into a conflict soon enough anyways.

"How dare you, you know nothing about me or Yuugi. I loved him, which is more than he deserves, the little slut. He's probably fucked half the town behind my back. He'll pay for this." Otogi tried to leave, but the shadows cut off his exits and the room was bathed in darkness, our bodies the only thing visible.

"You have trespassed against my soul, you will be my opponent. Let the shadow game begin."

He scoffed at me, "I'm not afraid to use this, just let me go and no one gets hurt, okay, little guy?"

"This will be our game. We will use this deck of cards," I produced a deck from my pocket, "There are no tricks to this deck, it's perfectly ordinary. We will take turns drawing cards and guessing the color." I shuffled the deck, set it on the table and gestured for Otogi to pick the first card.

He stared at me for a moment, then looked at the deck, "I predict it will be red." He strode forward and took the first card from the stack, showed me. Three of hearts.

"Black." I drew my card, jack of spades.

The game continued for a couple of rounds, both of us correctly guessing the cards. Otogi cursed when I once again was correct, his anger got the best of him, "I don't have time to stay here and play your stupid games!" He struck out with the knife, which I easily side-stepped, having seen the move coming for a while now.

"Tisk, Tisk, Otogi, what a temper. I'll have to assume your guess was red like the blood you crave, the blood on your hands." I slid the card off of the top of the stack and held it face down in the air for a moment, a grin spreading on my face. "The door to darkness opens." I revealed the card, expecting it to be black, expecting the shadows to exact their revenge for being cheated in the game.

Joker.

What? No. This wasn't right. The shadows should have made him lose because he cheated. The shadows don't take cheaters lightly. He should have lost. That should have been a black card, he should have been swallowed by the shadows. Then it hit me, he hadn't cheated. He had just tried to harm me, which wasn't outside the parameters of the game. The shadows had been confused between trying to help me and refraining from cheating. They ended the game prematurely, with no winner or loser.

The shadows faded, light filtering back into the room from the bulbs. I stood in shock, the playing card held in my hand. Otogi looked around, noticed the shadows had gone, and took off for the back door, escaping my grasp and my retribution.

Fourteen

"He hasn't come out of Yuugi's room still," I delivered my report to Grandpa, who had gotten back shortly after Otogi had fled. I didn't get much out of Atem before he shut himself in Yuugi's room and most likely fell asleep. Grandpa and I had been checking on him periodically but he still hadn't left Yuugi's room today. It was almost noon, Grandpa would go out to formally file the report in a few hours. The shop was closed today and we hadn't seen anything from Yuugi or Otogi since last night.

There was a sound from the front of the shop, knocking, probably someone who couldn't understand why the shop was closed on a random day. I told Grandpa I would get it, he nodded and went back to doing paper work.

I opened the door, "We're closed today, sorry for the- Atem, what the fuck are you doing on the front step, is that Yuugi?! Why do you smell like smoke, what happened? Oh my god!" Fast steps ran in behind me from the basement of the game shop, and Grandpa appeared in my line of sight, putting his hand on Yuugi's face. Tears. Relief.

Questions.

"Where did you find him? Is he okay? When did you leave?"

"I woke up with a weird feeling, like I was sweltering in the cold room, and there was a tug for me to remember something. I just let my feet lead me where they would, feeling like I needed to find something. I climbed onto the roof and then down the side of the building. Down the street some, then I started to feel the pain, like I was on fire, everything burned. I took off at a run, panicking, until I saw a house. It felt awful to me, but I knew there was something I was supposed to find, supposed to remember, so I went in."

The concrete was cold on the bottoms of my feet but I didn't care as I tore through the streets, trying to find the memory I didn't have. I pulled up short at one house in particular, and fear washed through me, pain and hatred and disgust, hopelessness, but they were all so detached like they belonged to someone else. I went in the front door, scrambling through the house, following the growing pulse of emotions. The door. The door at the end of the hall, the handle seared my fingers but I yanked the door open. Heat billowed out at me like I had opened an oven. The drapes were ablaze, flames slowly crawling up the disheveled blankets on the bed. A horrific odor of old blood burning hit my nose and made me gag. I moved to the bed.

There he was, tied down, almost unconscious, a gag in his mouth and his body covered in his own blood. I reached out for his face, to touch the face that had been on my mind constantly since I awoke to it that morning. Yuugi, the light to my darkness. Framed by the hungrily blazing light of the fire trying to destroy him. He flinched away from my touch but stilled, too tired apparently to put up a full fight. My heart tore for him. I undid the bindings on his wrists and wrapped him in the bloody sheet he was lying on, for decency. One arm under his knees, the other holding his chest close to mine, I maneuvered our way out of the burning house, and back down the street to the game shop.

I just whispered over and over again, as the memories came back to me, flying around my head like gun shots. I remembered how he had handled the puzzle as though it were me, carefully and gently, how he had saved me from the darkness with his sweet light, how he was always brave enough to forgive, to trust. He was always so brave and caring, everyone loved him so deeply and he loved them all just as much, even me. He had cared for me like I wasn't an evil darkness living inside of him like a parasite. One memory in particular floated to the surface.

I felt a smile tugging at my lips as I sat huddled in a corner of my soul room. They had called me by HIS name. Me. A being so shrouded in darkness, I couldn't even find myself, had been mistaken for a person so full of light and life. Yugi was freedom and happiness and it was of the highest honor to have been not only saved by him and get to share his body, but for them to think I was Yugi. It was amazing. More than I could have ever asked for. I pulled my legs in close, smiling in earnest. 'mou hitori no boku' my other self. If only me, a creature composed of darkness and strife, could be anything of a being so beautiful and full of light as Yugi.

I looked down at his beautiful little light, feeling rage tickle the edges of my euphoria, for simply getting to touch my light, hold him, at the person who had done this. Otogi would pay. He would feel death a thousand times over for bringing pain like this to my little one, my Aibou.

I had paid careful attention to Yuugi's romantic life when I had inhabited his soul, hoping against all odds for the chance to love my Aibou legitimately. Hoping he could love me back the same way, that we could be together. Yuugi had never dated anyone, but he'd had a slowly fading crush on Anzu. He was a virgin. I wasn't stupid, I knew that Otogi had been raping Yuugi in that room, abusing his small body repeatedly. It brought on a righteous fury that I could barely contain but I knew I needed to. I would need my wits to challenge Otogi to another shadow for what he had done to my savior. I would destroy him.

Yuugi made a soft sound in my arms and clung to my chest, hiding his face, I just kept whispering over and over, hoping he would understand, hoping it could fix everything that had gone wrong, remembering the look in Yuugi's eyes on that day. How they had looked so broken, so regretful. I knew Yuugi would have beat himself over the ordeal, thinking he had possibly slighted my by defeating me. Selfishly, I hoped Yuugi had wanted to lose that day, that Yuugi had loved me almost as much as I love him. So I just kept repeating myself. Kept remembering those last moments, how my heart had torn and I had just wanted to see some sign in Yuugi that he felt the same way. That he was going to miss me. That I hadn't been just a parasite to him. Wanted to see that he loved me even though I was darkness and he was light. He was beautiful and I saw a tear on his cheek as he whispered, "I'm sorry," from where he kneeled in the ground. I knew. I knew that maybe he didn't love me the way I loved him, but he would miss me. He would hurt without me. I wanted to assure him it would be okay but even I didn't believe that. I would destroy him by losing that battle almost as much as he destroyed me by winning, so I just kept repeating myself, hoping that would let him know.

"I forgive you, Yuugi."