The moment he landed in the strange desert area, he knew domino was more than just a few miles away. It would take more of Yuugi to make sure time did not alter because of his presence. Blindshipping/AU

Bold - Past events

Italics - Thoughts.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

-Eystrix

Chapter 1 -

At age 30, Yuugi Mutou was on top of his game. Not only was he duelist king for 12 years in a row but also still single and ready for the taking. Although he wasn't all that interested in either getting a girlfriend or settling down any time soon he still did a few dates here and there whenever he could squeeze his way out of it. His best friend Anzu was a prime example of such acts, as the young 29 year old famous dancer also had yet to find a reason to settle down.

It wasn't until Yuugi received a phone call from Rebecca in America that everything changed.

"Yuugi honestly, it's just a sprain ankle nothing more... I'lll be back on my dancing feet in another few months, before you know it." Anzu playfully smacked his shoulder as she grinned at her long time friend. "I promise you."

Yuugi looked at her with skeptical looks but sighed in defeat, once Anzu set her mind on something it was impossible to set her to change it. "I am still going to worry you know. I know how much dancing means to you and…." His eyes averted to look at her knee. This was going to set her up more than just a few months, he knew, but he didn't have the heart to tell her. He understood why dancing meant so much to her, and to see her dancing career going down….

He stood up quickly and turn to face her once more, "I will be back OK?" he said quietly, stepping out of the room to give her some privacy should she need it.

It wasn't until he let the door close softly behind him that he heard the soft sobs that escape her.

At the age of 29, Anzu's career was over.

Dancing just could never last forever.

He drove in silence. On occasion running a hand over his chin and pondering over things. The news about Anzu's career hit him hard. It reminded him even though he didn't do anything as dedicate as dancing, keeping his king title still took its toll. People challenged him left and right whenever they saw him and it got to a point that he even pleaded to Kaiba to let him hire some body guards.

Keeping his title was becoming a very heavy burden to carry rather than something he could be proud of. At one point in his life he might have bragged a bit about it, but the way things were now? It was just a promise and bow to young Judai so that one day he would give the title a good home.

The street lights flickered as the car continued to move, every so offend he would rub his eyes to focus and others, darkness greeted him. Finally managing to drive back to his apt, after such a long flight from America, Yuugi fished his keys inside his pocket as he open the door to his car and step out.

Cold air was the first to meet his warm skin; even enough to give him shivers. He had forgotten how cold it got back in Domino when he left to America. Seeing as Anzu was staying in the warm and sunny tropical of Florida rather than her luxurious home in New York City.

Sighing miserably he shut the door behind him and stepped out into the night. His apartment complex was fairly pretty, seeing as it held 20 floors above ground as he walked towards the automatic glass door that would lead him to the lobby and into the elevator. It almost felt like a hotel with its beautiful imported rug from Europe and its glassy interior design but it was thanks to his job at Kaiba Corp. that he was able to afford such luxury. Although if it wasn't for his family and himself, Kaiba Corp could have been in serious trouble after the whole scandal between some random fanatic of Kaiba and his boss. To believe someone was smart enough to try to outsmart Kaiba, still took him by surprise.

He would give the girl credit, but her foolishness cost her more money and reputation than she could ever imagine. Not to mention how tainted Kaiba Corp got after the whole ordeal.

Still the whole business was over and done with. Stepping into the elevator he pushed the button to go to the tenth floor before slipping back against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest to almost give a position of a bad boy should anyone decide to take a ride up with him to his floor. So much happened in 12 years, it was hard to image how much he had change.

No longer keeping his round cheeks and baby fat, he stood a good almost 5'6 from his previous 5'0 feet of teenage years. Although he wasn't the tallest person in his group at least he no longer felt like a midget compare to others. His once larger eyes gained a sharper edge and even darken purple from the amount of things he had to experience in his own lifetime.

The girls were all over him.

The guys were jealous.

And his reputation as King of Duelist continued to grow. Yuugi stood among the cross roads of debating whether or not he wanted to continue that path.

Anzu, despite having her career come crashing down on her a few months before she could finish it, was already making plans of what she was going to do afterwords. Dancers never lasted no more than tender age of 30. She knew that, but it didn't lessen the pain of having it end a few months of her expected retirement.

Life could be a real bitch when it wanted to.

The sounds of bell and the lack of movement, made him aware that he finally reached his floor. Stepping out, he ran a hand over his hair and pulled it back before jiggling his keys and unlocking the front door of his rented space.

This is why he was glad he had this place. As much as the game shop kept so many wonderful and painful memories, the elder wanted some space of his own.

Setting the keys on the side table, he closed the door behind him gently and sighed once it was locked. From relief that he was finally back home to his apartment or disappointment simply due to the fact Anzu's life came crashing down and reminding him so much of his own? He wasn't sure.

A bit of both likely.

With a sour taste in his mouth and his body sluggish, he took off his jacket the minute he walked into his bedroom. Setting it aside on the corner of the arm chair before proceeding to remove the rest of his clothing and walk towards the bathroom for a nice and warm bath. It would help relax him, he hoped…

Making sure the water was the right temperature, he filled his tub before stopping at a certain depth and set his left foot in. The smooth, warm water greeted his cold skin, and it made a much needed sigh escape his lips before setting the rest of his body and sitting down. He could feel his muscles relax, and his entire body turn even more sluggish than it already was. But the warmth that came with it soaked into his skin a bit allowing him to feel like he was younger instead of the older man he was.

Sliding down the wall behind him, he settled himself as comfortable as possible before closing his eyes and just allowing the silence to take him. He could occasionally hear the sound of waves of the water as he moved a bit to position himself more but other than that, complete silence engulfed him.

Sleep would be easy, and he could already feel himself fall under, it would only be a matter of time before he completely gave in.

With one final content sigh, he drifted and slept.

So hot…

So very hot and thirsty.

Why was he suddenly feeling the need of water so badly? And why would opening his eyes felt like such a difficult task? He remembered falling asleep in the bath tub but this was beyond a level of exhaustion. He was hot, but shouldn't feel THIS hot, and he was also very, very thirsty. Almost felt like he was…

Dehydrated…..

Not to mention the water around him did not ease.

Opening his eyes he tried his best to focus, it was a difficult task since not only was the heat bothering him but the amount of layers he had on..

Wait… clothes?

Blinking he focus a bit more, looking around and instead of finding water he found "S-sand…?.." He went into a coughing fit as he swallowed the grainy earth before he noticed his parched lips were very close to the ground. Making sure not to get up too quickly, he turn his head slowly to see what kind of fucked up dream he had gotten himself into. It couldn't be real; he was just inside his bathtub….

But his eyes landed on nothing but the endless sea of desert sand. How did he end up in the middle of this barren land, with the heat of the sun beating down on his back and the many clothes he carried? Not to mention the dehydration was already settling into his aching muscles. If this was a dream, by god he had a really good, active imagination.

-End of chapter-

It's my first publish fanfic, so I really do hope it came out alright. Please leave your thoughts or comments should you enjoy it. :) Thank you~