Disclaimer/Note: I do not own the characters and canon of YuGiOh, nor am I affiliated in any way with Julliard.

I had Danny Boy by Celtic Woman in mind as I was writing, one verse per section of text after the intro.

Part of a 7 fic series.

In memory of someone very, very dear to my heart.

Anzu stepped onto the stage. The lights were blinding, shimmering, pulsing. She knew the judges were beyond the lights. Though she could not see them, she knew they each held in their hands a piece of her future. A score for her audition. A total to decide her fate as a dancer.

She had chosen a vocal piece as her accompaniment. Unusual given Julliard's preference for classical pieces, but she felt drawn to it, so she chose it even though it could have snapped her dream in two as soon as she began. But that song…that song spoke to her soul. It reminded her of someone she knew long ago—has it really just been two years since he left? Can she even call it departure if he was never really here to begin with?—and she channeled her sadness into the music, the rhythms vibrating through her blood, dancing harder than she ever had before.

Atem stepped onto the stage. The lights were blinding, shimmering, pulsing. He knew his life was beyond those lights. Through the open door to his afterlife. Though he could not see them yet, he knew that each of his friends there held a piece of his past and his future. They waited five thousand years to see him, faithfully arranging his affairs for what they knew would be an arduous journey to save the world yet again.

He had not chosen any sort of accompaniment for his departure. He hadn't really thought about what it means, really, to leave his earthly friends behind. He knew Yugi would win—how could he not?—but he hadn't anticipated the pain of leaving his present. His dearest friends in the world were all crying. There was even a faint glimmer of moisture in Kaiba's eyes though he characteristically blamed it on the hot Egyptian sun.

She was crying, of course, sobs wracking through her slender dancer's body, holding onto Yugi's hand like a child lost at a Saturday morning bazaar. She faked a smile as he walked through the doors and out of her world forever. He turned and, though she could not see, he was crying as the doors closed.

She hadn't expected to feel so bereft after he left. It was strange. The only other person who truly understood, really, was Yugi, and even he didn't know the extent of her pain. How much it hurt to watch Atem walk away. How it took all of Joey's strength to stop her from running after him. How it seemed as if she had unmistakably lived a life that was hers and yet not hers at the same time. It seemed strange that Yugi had lost his literal other half while she felt she lost her figurative other half.

She continued to dance as her thoughts threatened to break her composure. She never felt free from the pain except when she was dancing. The joy of coaxing her limbs into beautiful forms, the sheer bliss of perfect execution, and the intense concentration separated her from her heart. In that moment she is air. Lighter than the pain that threatened to consume her soul so she danced, danced, and danced.

He hadn't expected them to feel anything other than contentment at reaching his goal, but his heart seemed curiously empty. It was strange, that feeling of loneliness after being bathed in friendship for so long. He wondered about how Yugi was taking his departure. Grandpa must be helping him. Tristan, Joey, Duke, and Serenity must all be by his side. He imagined Kaiba and Mokuba and probably even Bakura were at the Game Shop now, cheering him up with silly games and light-hearted banter.

And her. He had felt her light before he ever saw her. The key to his other half's childhood, adolescence, and future. He felt her before Yugi solved the puzzle. Even hidden in the depths of his puzzle pieces he recognized her as the one who had given his future self courage and strength to put it all together. She was Yugi's light in the darkness like she was his spirit's light when the Seal took Yugi. Even then she encouraged him to fight the darkness within, her spirit shining like the cartouche he still wore. She was no doubt still by Yugi's side, supporting him even though he—Atem—had already broken her heart more than she ever wanted to admit.

Anzu stepped off the stage. And back on. And off again. The judges wanted three encores to critique her form and technique before opening the doors of Julliard. The same graceful limbs that beat Johnny Steps went on to grace Broadway, London, the World. She danced from her heart on each stop of her tour. Her friends cheered her on beyond the lights and she felt their presence with her as she moved. The music was her salvation, the public her adoration, and love her isolation.

Every year she went to Egypt. Back to where it all began. And there, in front of the ancient pyramids, she danced there like she did the day at the arcade so long ago, under his gaze, moving to the beat of the music within their two hearts.

And somewhere, beyond the lights, he knew that she knew he was still watching, patiently waiting for the curtain call that would reunite them once again.

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