One of my earlier fanfics that gets the pleasure of getting posted on here. I was in a bit of a sulky mood when I wrote it. Not my best work, but enjoy.

Yugioh doesn't belong to me.

The voices around him were muffled. He wasn't alone, but the pain of guilt eating away at his insides, he might as well be. Honda and Jou were joking to themselves in the seat across the aisle. Next to him he could feel Anzu's gaze on him as she attempted to shift his mind away from his depression. The weather and the scenery meant nothing to him. The only thing that mattered was gone, and it was his fault. You don't know what you have until you've lost it. He'd heard the saying somewhere and he didn't know where it came from. It was all too true.

Yami stood up suddenly and his friends' gaze shifted from whatever they'd been doing to him. He didn't turn his head to look at them. He knew they were concerned about his mental state, but right now he just wanted to be alone. He told them as much and walked towards the back of the train car. He closed the sliding door behind him as he stood in the small room that led to the deck where one could walk over to the next car. He could hear the rattle of the metal wheels against the track as the train progressed its way along the course. Any other day the sound was soothing and it might have even lulled him to sleep. But metal screeching against metal was a scolding sound that screamed in his ears.

It had only happened last night. What had possessed him to betray Yugi's trust and play that wicked card in the first place? The Orichalchos was pure evil and yet he'd played it anyway.

Even though Rafael was allied with Doma, he'd chosen to stay by the side of his monsters the entire duel. Under normal circumstances Yami would have done the same. But the instant the tides turned Yami felt he'd lose the duel for certain. He, the King of Duelists, could never lose. He would do anything to win. That was the power that had seethed through him. The Orichalchos was in his hand, promising certain victory to the one who played it. And so, he used the card without a second thought.

Yami remembered the feeling it'd brought. Once he had slid the card into the field spell slot of his duel disk, it felt like all of his problems had suddenly disappeared. He didn't even hear his light's scream as the Seal separated their souls. Yami had been alone, isolated from the one thing that truly helped him to win duels: his friends. But that power surging in his body… he felt like he could do anything and have no consequences. He felt only the strong were worthy of serving him while the weak could be cast aside as useless. With power, what else was there needed to be? He felt like he could win at anything. But he had been wrong.

The power of unity was one thing Yami always praised. No matter how impossible a fight seemed this power was the only thing that allowed him to win duel after duel, progressing his way to uncover the lost memories of his past. Rafael had showed him firsthand what that power could really do. Yami had betrayed his monsters, sacrificing them for his own gain, including his two most valued servants: Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. He remembered the glares they had given to him as they willingly allowed their powers to be absorbed by Eatos. Yami could remember his own screams as he felt all 10,000 attack points penetrate every part of his body. The vengeance of betrayal certainly had come back to bite him.

He had no idea how, but as his soul had been about to sacrificed to the Orichalchos, Yugi had appeared and pushed him aside. Yugi had been shunned away by it, so how had he escaped? The Seal that should have taken Yami's soul had taken Yugi's instead.

It wasn't fair. It should have been him!

Yami slammed his fist against the wall of the train, the recoil of pain working its way up his arm. It was now he could feel the hot tears form in his eyes and work their way down his face. He pressed his palms to the side of the wall and slowly fell to his knees, his hands slowly curling to fists. He was pathetic. He felt pathetic for feeling pathetic. He needed Yugi here to comfort him, tell him it would be all right, and encourage him to move forward. But he wasn't here now. It was Yami's fault for blocking him out and now he didn't have Yugi when he needed him the most. His lighter half had taught him so much. How to have friends, how to feel others' pain… and that it was ok to lose. Yami felt his pride swell at that last part. His pride was the only thing that kept up his cool and confident attitude. It had shattered a long time ago, reducing him to the sulking depressed mess he was now.

Yami wanted to see Yugi. Talk to him. Apologize. Anything to get rid of this pain eating away at his heart. It was unbearable to handle by himself. Even though he appreciated the support Anzu and the others attempted to give him, it wasn't enough. That sweet assuring smile was the only thing he wanted to see right now.

"I trust you…"

When Yami tried to picture in his mind what Yugi would say to him right now, these were the only words that he could hear. He didn't have any idea how or why. If he was Yugi he'd be furious with his actions, right?

"I trust you…"

Now it occurred to Yami where he'd heard it before. These were the last words Yugi had spoken to him before the Seal took him away. And now Yami could only ponder the one-word question in his mind. Why? If he was Yugi he wouldn't trust him. But he wasn't Yugi. The small teen's way of thinking questioned Yami even further. His mind was at a dead lock, thinking up no reasons for these words.

He didn't want to think anymore. The blood in his head was pounding as his brain grew weary. The room was slowly growing dark.

Yami thought about the kind of person his Aibou was. There was no room in Yugi's kind and innocent heart for hate and no room to even consider accepting such things. One of the things Yugi had taught him was that everyone deserved a second chance, no matter how corrupt their intentions. Were his last words his way of saying that he was willing to give Yami a second chance too? Yami closed his eyes, his tears now dry on his cheeks. He'd always trusted Yugi's judgment without a second thought, even though there were times he felt like his light was crazy. But everything had always turned out fine in the end. That must mean that Yugi believed that everything would be fine in the end despite the hardships they went through. Yami trusted Yugi more than anything and it comforted him to believe in this. If Yugi trusted him then he would continue to take that to heart.

Yami got to his feet and glanced at his duel disk in his hand, not remembering taking it off, and clamped it back on around his left forearm. He needed to see Yugi again, even if he had to take down all of Doma and Dartz before he could.

"Wait for me, Aibou. I'll save you, no matter what."