Not everyone in the world was perfect.

In fact...

Nobody in the world was a human being of perfection.

Sitting at a desk, a small structured person seemed to be working on what looked like a piece of paper before him. A desk lamp dimly lit up the room. Despite the light, his head was leaning down close to the paper, as if trying to get a better look at it. It was obvious that whoever this was seemed to be working as hard as possible just to be able to see.

Soon enough, a door had opened. It was the door that was the entrance of the room.

A soft voice struck the dead silence of the night.

"Yuugi?"

Looking over his shoulder, the light revealed part of his face. Said person had glittery and bright amethyst eyes that sparkled from time to time, almost as if they contained all of his hidden emotions. Obviously a male, wild colors of black and magenta spiked up the boy's hair in a crazy fashion. Yellow bangs scattered and littered his face as soon as his head was turned. A soft voice came in response to the slightly rasped and older-sounding voice.

"Yes, Grandpa?"

Slowly making his way over, the other being revealed himself in the light. It was clear that he was an older man by the gray hair and wrinkled skin, but there trailed gentleness with every word he spoke. A little flabbergasted that his grandson was up so late, he stood behind the chair that the younger was sitting in and looked down, causing the other to lean back and tilt his head back just to meet the elder's eyes.

"What're you doing up so late? You have school tomorrow. It's almost 12:00pm." The senior spoke in a soft whisper. A cloud of concern flooded his eyes when he noticed the boy's amethyst gaze was glazed over with exhaustion. The teen made a small huff and rested his tired eyes for a moment, taking in the question before he opened his mouth to answer.

"I need to finish this.. I promised I would..." Yuugi started trailing off quietly through his sentences when his tiredness would occasionally block his mind. "... Would finish homework before I went to sleep..."

The concern in Grandpa's eyes lingered for a minute before he placed one of his hands onto the teen's left shoulder, who trembled at the sudden warmth. "Yuugi... you need to sleep now. You'll never make it through the day tomorrow if you keep staying up all night like this." The hand remained on Yuugi's shoulder as the man gave a small and reassuring pat. "I've been noticing that your grades are dropping. What is bothering you?"

That did it. Pain surged through the heart of young Yuugi when those words were spoken. A month or two ago, the Ceremonial Duel had taken place. He still missed Yami – no, Atem – so much, just longing to feel the spirit's comforting touch and hear his words again. Carefully placing down the pencil, both of the boy's hands came up to cover his reddening face, as soft sobbing was audible though muffled through the sound of his hands. The same shock of overwhelming emotion hit the old man as well, recalling that Yuugi had said his last goodbyes to his closest and best friend, and knew how upset he must have felt. It had taken Yuugi eight years to solve the Millennium Puzzle, and when solved is when he met Yami.

At first, Yuugi didn't know about Yami. He noticed that he would have random lapses in his memory ever since the puzzle was completed. When Jounouchi and Honda were picking on him, Ushio was the one who had just made it worse. The huge bully – that was about three times the size of Yuugi – had forced him into something that he didn't want to have, and that was for Ushio to be Yuugi's bodyguard. Though the smaller teen didn't want this, Ushio was already a step ahead and beat up the ones that were picking on little Yuugi. He was absolutely horrified at the sight he saw when the bully had lead him to the back of the school to 'show him something'. That was something he would never forget, for what followed was even worse.

Ushio told Yuugi to pay up for the forced bodyguard duties, which came out to be 20,000 yen. There was no way that Yuugi had that much, nor would he want to put a burden on his grandfather, so he had just kept to himself. To think, the teen sat down and fiddled around with his puzzle, asking himself questions about what he should do as if the puzzle could answer him. Gradually finding himself doing better and better as the minutes passed, the boy's hopes were up tremendously when he had one piece left. It gave Yuugi great shock when he found that the last piece was not in the puzzle box, where all of the pieces were. He was thinking, perhaps, that it could be back at school, however completely oblivious that Jounouchi had stolen the piece and threw it into a water system outside the school. When he arrived at the school, Ushio had been waiting for him there, and expected Yuugi to have the money on him when he appeared. Trying to explain that he forgot something at school, the look that the bully was giving him was not believable. He took the smaller teen to the back of the school and beat him to the point where he lay face-down and out of breath, finding it hard to breathe or move because of the wounds and bruises that soiled his body from the brutal beating. The next moment, he could never forget.

The ones that always picked on him, Jounouchi and Honda, came to his rescue.

Jounouchi had run up to Yuugi, who lay helpless and motionless, and put an item into his small hand. Still stunned from the beating, Yuugi did not notice it right away, whispering silently to himself despite the pain of it from kicks to the chest.

"I wished... for true friends... friends that would never betray me, and would stay by my side... no matter what..."

Those words echoed in little Yuugi's head, which seemed to make his crying heavier. True friends. He wished on the Millennium Puzzle for true friends... Jounouchi and Honda proved to be so when they had both attacked Ushio, well aware that the bigger male was much stronger and well built. Though the two bullies had fallen to the ground, writhing in pain before going unconscious, Ushio had turned and started away with a dark and mysterious chuckle of amusement. In the moments that the winner was slowly walking away, Yuugi noticed something cold in his hand, and opened it.

The last puzzle piece...

His gaze shifted over to the Millennium Puzzle. It was the last piece.

He reached a hand out to try to fit the piece, though wincing and gasping from the pain he had to go through just stretching his arm. Suddenly, the puzzle started glowing. Yuugi started feeling a little dizzy before everything went black. That must have been when Yami took over, and he knew that for a fact. From that moment on, Yuugi was having lapses in his memory. He thought that his friends would find him to be weird if he explained his black outs, so he decided to keep to himself. His memory jumped to Kaiba Land.

Death T.

A sickening shudder racked the teen's body when he thought about it. Losing his friends, or so he thought, and began blaming himself. The stage before the duel with Mokuba and Kaiba, the falling blocks, he had experienced another black out. It was brief, but it left him terrified and overwhelmed until he HAD to tell Jounouchi and Anzu about how he felt.

"I feel like there's another me inside of my head that I don't know about!"

Yuugi remembered the exact quote. That was the first time that he realized that Yami was the one that made him black out, that made him have lapses when he thought back. Part of him wished for it back; anything to have Yami back would ease the poor teen's panic.

Grandpa watched as his grandson suffered right before his eyes. A wave of sympathy washed over him. Yuugi must be so devastated without Yami, especially after all they'd been through together. Saving the world, overcoming their enemies in duels, etc. Now, Yuugi was alone, alone to live life by himself and making his own decisions. Grandpa, of course, was letting Yuugi stay as long as he wished. He was a very understanding man that would do anything to help with Yuugi's suffering. The old man wasted so bad to help, but the young teen would not listen to him and hadn't been for the past few months.

Not only were grades dropping, but his health definitely was as well. He'd lost weight and continued to refuse to eat unless he was comfortable. If Yuugi tried to eat something after not eating for so long, the boy would be having to spend all day and night in the bathroom. Absences were building up on his school record. What could he do? He was mourning over the loss of his best friend.

The older man had sighed and picked Yuugi up and out of the chair, hugging the smaller male close to him. "I know you miss him, my boy... It will be okay. Yami is somewhere better. I'm sure he misses you, too." Almost instinctively, Yuugi buried his face into his grandfather's chest and sobbed loudly.

"I miss him, Grandpa, I miss him so much!"

Something tugged at Grandpa's heart as he heard the words of his grandson. Soon enough, tears were falling from his eyes. He held the boy close to his chest, just allowing Yuugi to use him for a shoulder to cry on. The teen had been this way ever since the Ceremonial Duel, despite his optimism almost soon after the cave was crumbling.

Yuugi only wished to speak to Yami one more time, to just hold the puzzle. There was something that he didn't tell Yami, and it pained him that he never told his feelings.

He loved Yami.

He loved Yami more than a close friend.

For the longest time, Yuugi had a deep crush on Anzu, especially in the early days since the solving of the puzzle. However, he felt as if that feeling faded from both thinking that Anzu didn't feel the same way, and that he was feeling closer and closer to Yami than anyone besides his grandpa. The teen had no idea what the cause of his black outs were at the time; he was unaware that it was Yami who was protecting him and his friends in times of trouble. That was why he would suddenly come back and see the bully or the enemy on the ground or acting against something that wasn't even there.

His memory flashed to the duel with Kaiba.

When dueling, he felt a presence deep inside him, feeling that it was almost guiding him to the right moves. Little did he know, it was Yami. It made him feel comfortable, until the moment in the duel where Kaiba threatened to take his life if he lost. A cowardly act, really. However, the presence didn't back down. It launched the Celtic Guardian until Yuugi stepped in to stop the act, stopped the attack to the remaining yet weakened Blue-Eyes. He could never forget the moment where he fell on his hands and knees, crying over what he had almost done. It wasn't him, though, it was Yami...

Yuugi knew that Yami was just looking out for him, looking out for his grandpa and getting his soul back, feeling that he failed everyone by losing the duel against Pegasus over the tape. Yuugi didn't feel it was right to attack and risk Kaiba's life over a duel. It was hard. Kaiba wanted Mokuba back, and Yuugi wanted his grandpa back. If it weren't for Mai, Yuugi would not have gotten into the castle. Then again... if it weren't for Yami who helped him in the duels, Yuugi would not be where he is now. Yami shaped him both as a duelist and as a person, teaching him courage and to never give up. He strengthened his belief in the heart of the cards.

Yuugi was a very optimistic teenager with a constant smile. After the Ceremonial Duel, however, the always happy smile faded. This hurt Grandpa's heart. He missed the beautiful and happy grin that his grandson always had displayed. The things he would give just to see Yuugi's smile again. Grandpa had tried to invite Yuugi's friends over to see if they could help in cheering Yuugi up, but it was no use. It was best to let the teen mourn, but not in the way that he was.

The boy refused to eat and barely went anywhere but school. When he'd arrive home, he would just lock himself up in his room and never come out. When he didn't go to school, it was when his stomach acted or feeling light-headed. Most of the time, however, Yuugi would push through it and go to school, which mostly ended up in Grandpa having to come and pick Yuugi up from school for feeling sick during the day. His tardiness and absences from school were adding up, and the old man wouldn't be surprised if he received a phone call to come in and talk with the principal. He had got a few calls that warned. It was worrying him greatly.

Gently patting the teen's back, Grandpa pulled back to look at his grandson's eyes. The poor teen looked miserable.

The happily burning youthful spark in Yuugi's eyes had faded over the past month. Dark circles were visible under his large eyes, and he was paler than ever before. He was very light in weight and appeared to be frail, his feelings very fragile if you rubbed him the wrong way. Yuugi spent most days crying in his room. Although suicidal thoughts ran through his head, thinking that he would be better off with Yami, Yuugi knew better that it was not a very smart choice. The thought that Yami was with him kept him content and comfortable, giving him something to live for, but it was obvious that his health was declining rapidly.

"Yuugi... Get some sleep. Everything will be all right."

His grandfather's words had reassured him a bit. Yuugi always loved when Grandpa would soothe him with words. He showed signs of dozing off as the older man talked, and opened his heavy-lidded eyes slightly to look up at the one family member that he had left. A forced smile came to his face.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Yuugi murmured, before a small yet brief yawn took him over. Even a month later, he was still shocked by the loss of Yami.

The old man smiled softly when he felt his grandson relax in the embrace. He hoped that Yuugi would smile, but he was getting expectant for nothing. The same upset expression beamed across Yuugi's face. Grandpa hugged Yuugi close to him, noticing how light in weight the boy was. He said goodnight, then slowly made his way over to the door, looking over his shoulder one last time to find the gleaming amethyst eyes glittering with tears staring back at him. As much as he wanted to stay with his grandson, he needed to sleep and get up to watch the shop, hoping that Yuugi would get some sleep as well. Giving a soft smile, he finally exited the room.

Yuugi just stared at the closed door a moment. His breathing started to pick up a little bit as his eyes closed, releasing the tears that he was trying to hold back. Every part of him hurt so bad. His eyes hurt the most from his constant crying. Every night was the same thing over and over again. He would stay up, work on his homework, then try his best to get some sleep. Most nights, he found that he could not sleep. He felt so exhausted the next day, and would occasionally drift off in his classes. It was a good thing that Jounouchi was in his classes, or else he would have constant detention. Clicking off his desk lamp, Yuugi scrambled into his bed and curled up under the covers.

At that moment, the grief had hit him suddenly. It sent him into tears once again. Yuugi's face collided with the pillow before he gasped and cried into it. Yami... Was he okay? He wondered if he missed Yuugi as much as Yuugi missed Yami...

After what felt like forever, Yuugi sat up and rubbed his eyes. Carefully getting onto shaky legs, he made his way over to the bathroom to wash up before he went to bed. He grimaced at his appearance. Miserable and unhealthy... Yuugi steadied his breathing to keep from crying. What was there to live for anymore? The spirit of Yami was barely keeping him emotionally stable. He'd been neglecting his health for the past month.

Carefully, Yuugi turned the knob on the sink and splashed his face with warm water. The feeling comforted him and for whatever reason, he seemed to enjoy it. Yuugi stood there for a moment and allowed himself to collect his thoughts.

"Yami... What do you think I should do?" Almost as if Yami was right next to him, Yuugi whispered the question as his head tilted back to look up. His eyes hurriedly narrowed to block out the overwhelming shining of the light. "I miss you..."

One of his hands rose to rest on his chest. He did not want to go to school tomorrow with all of the pressure he was going through. In fact, he wished he did not have to go to school at all. His friends all gave him concerned and worried looks, constantly asking if he felt okay.

He drew a sharp breath in. He hated when everyone continuously asked if he was okay. The teen started to pant slightly from getting worked up. Everytime they would ask, he would just give the same answer.

"I'm fine."

One thing he hated most; he could not stand when people repetitively asked a question or follow up with similar questions. They would also ask if he was sure, and the answer would always be:

"Yes!"

Although it wasn't the truth, he did not want his friends to keep worrying about him. All of them were busy outside of school. It was one less thing that was needed to be on their minds.

Yuugi leaned against the door of the bathroom and crossed his arms for a few minutes to calm himself down, before straightening up and stretching. He winced when he heard popping and cracking, however he sighed in slight relief afterward. He had been so tense and jumpy lately.

Finally, Yuugi stalked out of the bathroom and into his room again, quietly sneaking back into his bed. He covered himself up and shivered. Yuugi had calmed his mind and was determined not to break out into tears again once he had found himself to be comfortable in the bed. He could not help but think about what could happen in school tomorrow. Sighing, he closed his eyes.

Eventually, the uneasy teen had drifted off into a restless sleep.