So, like everyone out there who loves angst, I wanted to try a story that deals with Yami losing Yugi to the Orichalcos. This is going to be a multi-chapter fic. I guess I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to end up being, but I plan for it to go until Dartz and his Leviathan are defeated. Anyway, I guess this is technically AU since there are going to be deviations from canon (namely Yugi's absence having implications regarding the puzzle)? Not sure if that's a big enough difference for this to really be called AU, though I guess it's not that important.

Reviews would be loved. This is both my first intentional multi-chapter story-" It Doesn't Suit You" was originally intended as a one-shot-and my first one that deals with more than two or three characters at a time. Since this is kind of new territory, your thoughts would be appreciated. I really do try to take comments into consideration!

But I guess that's enough from me. I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

~Pleurez

"Yugi! You can't!" His fists beat furiously at the green barrier closing in around the shorter duelist. He had to break through… He couldn't allow this to continue.

A scream tore from the pharaoh's throat as the seal claimed Yugi's soul.

White-hot pain coursed through him, as if every nerve ending in his body had been set ablaze, as the true owner of the body he currently inhabited was violently torn away. He fell to his knees, vision blurring. Even the fiery blast of Ra was nothing compared to the agony that held the spirit in its grasp.

And then there was nothing.

He fell to the ground and the world went black.

It would have been easier if it had stayed that way.

When he woke on the other side of the canyon, the pain was gone, leaving in its wake a great, gaping void.

"Alright! How'd ya do it?"

Joey's gleeful shout made Yami feel physically ill.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

Aibou!

He searched desperately for the link that bound his soul to Yugi's.

Nothing.

The air was driven from his lungs. He gasped for breath and squeezed his eyes shut. "Yugi," he rasped. His entire body shook with the force of the tears he couldn't contain. "Yugi is gone."

His legs gave out.

He couldn't stand. He couldn't think. He couldn't process anything beyond the crushing refrain of It should have been me. He slammed his fist into the ground. He'd failed. He'd failed in the most catastrophic way imaginable, and Yugi had been the one to pay the price.

Joey's eyes narrowed.

"Well you're not gonna get him back sitting there feelin' sorry for yourself!"

Yami barely heard him.

A low growl rumbled in his throat. He reached down and snatched the collar of the pharaoh's shirt, hauling him to his feet. "Get a grip, man! If they've really got Yugi, let's go do something about it!" He raised a hand as if he was going to strike.

Yami turned empty, crimson eyes to the taller duelist. His gaze flicked to his balled fist, and then he turned his head, waiting for whatever punishment Yugi's friend decided to dish out. He deserved all of it, and far worse.

"Hey! Knock it off," Tristan cut in, taking hold of Joey's arm. "That's not going to help anything!"

Joey released the smaller man, scoffing as the pharaoh fell backwards. "Fine! If you're not going to try to save Yugi, I will."

"Come on. Get up." Tristan's tone was more sedate than Joey's. The spirit was in a state of shock—shouting wasn't going to help. Instead, he urged Yami to his feet and onto the horse. In retrospect, putting him on the animal instead of in the car probably wasn't the best idea… His grip on the reins was loose and his eyes remained downcast and unfocused.

But he was the only one of them with any clue how to ride and they couldn't all fit in the car.

So he figured he'd just keep an eye on him on the trip back. At least that way they could pull over if he fell or lost control of the horse.

A shiver ran down Yami's spine. It was so unnaturally vacant without Yugi. He'd grown so accustomed to sharing a body that inhabiting one with just a single mind was maddening. It was hard to focus without another presence—the hollowness was all consuming.

So much so that he hadn't even realized they'd returned to their camp until the horse reared, startled by the sudden stop of the car in front of it. He snatched at the reins, just barely able to keep himself from sliding off the animal's back.

"You're back!"

It was Tea who ran out to greet them first, Rebecca following close on her heels. Her eyes were bright as she grinned, "See, Rebecca? I told you they'd be fine!" But the closer she got, the more she slowed, coming to a halt several meters away the car.

"Is… Is everything alright?"

Joey's eyes were downcast and Tristan looked from the blond duelist to Yami, running a hand through his hair, trying to determine the best way to keep them away from each other. Joey was pissed—had had a right to be, certainly. He'd just seen his best friend's soul snatched away. But the pharaoh… He could barely function, and letting Joey take out his anger on the spirit wasn't going to fix anything.

"They got him," Joey spat. He shoved the car door open. "They got Yugi."

Rebecca rolled her eyes impatiently. "What do you mean? He's standing right there!" Before anyone could stop her, she bounded over to the pharaoh, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I knew you could do it, Yugi! My Yugi always wins!"

Yami froze.

Tea took a cautious step forward. "Rebecca, wait."

"What's the matter Yugi? Why are you acting so weird?"

"I am not Yugi, Rebecca."

Her eyes grew impossibly wide. "What?" Her head jerked up, meeting eyes that were crimson rather than purple. Her hands balled into fists and she beat them against the spirit's chest. "You lost him? How could you? You bring him back! You bring him back right now!"

Her blows didn't hurt. Yami wished they did. He would have deserved it—it was only because of his foolishness that Yugi had been taken.

Finally, she shoved him away. "It's not fair! It should've been you!" She let out a sob as she turned to Tea for comfort. "It should have been him," she cried.

"Now that's not fair, Rebecca," Tea sighed even as she stroked the girl's hair. "I—"

"She is right, Tea."

"For fuck's sake, snap out of it," Joey snarled, rounding on Yami. "Your pity party isn't helping anything."

Tristan placed himself between the two men. "You… You should rest." He began to herd the pharaoh inside, away from the commotion. "We'll all be thinking more clearly later." It had been a trying day for everyone. They were all tired, and they were all reeling from the loss of Yugi. The best thing they could do was take some time to process everything.

Left to his own devices, the pharaoh picked up on a faint voice whispering in the back of his mind. His heart sped up. Yugi, he called tentatively, hardly daring to hope that somehow the link between himself and his charge had remained intact.

The voice answered with a wicked chuckle. Not quite, pharaoh.

Yami drew in a sharp breath. The shadows from the puzzle. The ones that had tormented him in his captivity until Yugi had set him free…

The master's gone, pharaoh. So. How long can you resist?

A dark tendril wound its way around the spirit's soul, slithering across it in a mockery of a caress. We've missed you.

Yami's heart raced and any color that remained had drained from his face. "N-no," he rasped.

Yes.

He pulled his knees to his chest, unable to bite back a strangled sob. He'd failed. But worse, it would seem that the time he had to rectify his error was even more limited than he'd imagined.