- Call Me Yami -
Unfortunately for him. Fortunately for them. Yami Yugi, now known as Atem won the Ceremonial duel against his companion. That meant he had no chance of going back to the afterlife for a long time. "I'm sorry partner, but it looks like I'm not ready to accept defeat." Said the young Pharoah.
Anzu lightly smiled - trying to keep in her excitement. Secretly she was glad Atem was able to stay and have a new life of his own - but she didn't know if Yugi felt the same way. To her surprise, she noticed Yugi standing completely straight up, having the biggest smile she'd ever seen.
"R-really?" Yugi asked, "Y-you can really stay!?"
Atem lightly grinned, "Really."
Tears of happiness started to form in Yugi's eyes as he quickly rushed to his companion, arms open wide. Time seemed to slow as Yugi wrapped his arms around Atem's waist, still crying tears of joy. Kaiba scoffed, motioning Mokuba to follow him, "It looks like this was all done for nothing. Yugi, you haven't changed have you? And you," Kaiba pointed to Atem, "It looks like you and I aren't over yet. I still want that rematch with you and this time I WILL win." Kaiba spoke in a menacing voice.
"Come on, Mokuba. Let's go wait for the losing dog and the others."
Knowing what Kaiba was referencing to, Jounouchi became angered, "I am NOT a losing dog! I'll have you know that I've won multiple tournaments, that's pretty impressive right?"
"Don't you mean ONE tournament? For the record, the only way you won was by Yugi's help and advice. A loser is a loser and that will never change." Kaiba replied.
Atem turned to Yugi, "Let's go, partner."
Yugi nodded his head in excitement, "Okay! Let's go guys." With his crimson eyes, Atem watched his close friend in fascination - he had surely grown into the young man he had always wanted to be. He came to remember when he first met Yugi, a humble young boy who never bothered to stand up for himself. Yugi had always wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a worthy leader. To the both of them, Atem gave Yugi strength and Yugi gave Atem compassion.
"Hey! You losers ready yet?" Kaiba called, "The duel's over, let's go back to Japan, I have a business to run."
"Big brother, we don't have to rush them." Stated Mokuba.
"Fine, then we'll leave them behind. Let's go, Mokuba."
"Hold on! We're coming you impatient bastard!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
The crew followed the Kaiba brothers out of the stone cave and onto the sandy plains of Egypt. "The ship is docked about a mile away from here - hopefully you're lucky enough to catch it if you don't pass out from the heat. Right dog?" Kaiba exclaimed, again referring to Jounouchi.
"Screw you, Kaiba! I'll be at the ship before even YOU can reach it." Exclaimed Jounouchi.
"Tch, good luck with that. If you're so smart, then which direction is it?" Kaiba questioned.
Jounouchi stopped at the sudden question, eyes wandering to Honda and Anzu, hoping for them to know the direction, "..."
"Don't look at me! I don't know which direction it is!" Exclaimed Honda.
When Kaiba noticed Jounouchi's silence, he smirked, "Look's like you'd better follow me then and try to avoid getting left behind."
Honda put his arm around Jounouchi's neck, "Hey, don't bad mouth him if he's taking us back to Japan. We can get back to hating when we get back okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. That still doesn't take away the fact that he's a total douchebag..." Replied a frustrated Jounouchi.
After they finally reached the ship, the sun was setting, illuminating a colorful sky of orange, pink, and purple - all blending together in the horizon. Although Egypt was hot and deserted at the location they were, the light sunset took away all the uncomfort. "Okay guys! If you're hungry, get something to eat and go to bed! We've got a long day tomorrow!" Shouted Mokuba.
At this, Jounouchi leaped up in excitement, "Finally, some food!" He rushed right passed Mokuba into the ship, completely forgetting about the fact that Kaiba was the owner of it. Anzu wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand, "Geez, he can't stick to one emotion can he?"
"You just now noticed that, Anzu?" Honda commented.
As Atem and Yugi entered their room, Yugi couldn't help but break the silence. "The other me-I mean Atem, um how old are you? Physically I mean..."
Atem was startled by the sudden question. It was the first time the two of them spoke in a few hours. If anything, Atem was expecting that he was to be the one to start a conversation. After Yugi's question, he was debating on whether to tell his companion or not. Would Yugi's view of him change if he knew he was younger than him when he sacrificed his life to the puzzle? He knew he couldn't keep this secret forever - after all, he wasn't going to the afterlife any time soon, "...I am physically 15, Yugi." Answered Atem.
Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief, the last thing Yugi expected was for the boy he looked up to to be a year younger than him. He expected the former Pharaoh to be at least 18 or 20. "S-so that means you can attend school with me!" Yugi exclaimed.
"School?"
"Yeah, the place Anzu, Honda, Jounouchi, and I go every day to learn. You know that big building with all the desks inside? That's school! Looks like you'll be attending Domino High with me." Yugi explained.
"School huh? Seems new. What do you learn there?"
"Well we usually learn things like math, history, reading, you name it."
Atem nodded in approval. If he was to have a new life, he could use it to his advantage and learn more about the modern times. It wasn't too long after Yugi made the statement about school that Atem became aware of their similar appearances. "Yugi, if I am to attend your school, what should happen if I am mistaken for you?"
Yugi never gave the fact that both him and Atem looked similar a thought. It's true that if he just randomly enrolled at his school, there would be quite a bit of suspicion on why they look so alike. They couldn't just tell the school that Atem was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who just so happened to be the previous incarnation of Yugi - if they were to be in the same place, you'd think they would be family members. Though because of that thought, Yugi had a plan - after all, he'd always wanted a brother of his own.
"Atem, why don't we say you're my brother? You were living away for awhile and decided to come back. It would make sense, wouldn't it?" Yugi explained.
Atem had to admit that it was an excellent idea to have him as his own brother when they were so close and looked so alike. He agreed to Yugi's proposal to have him as a sibling. To the both of them, it seemed that they were reintroducing themselves; Atem telling Yugi's is real age and Yugi telling him about his family. Throughout their days together as they dueled, neither of them really paid any attention to each other's backgrounds and yet they were closer than brothers.
Atem wanted to start a new life, a new chance for him to live and explore the future like he always wanted to. He figured about having a new name for himself. The former pharaoh's name was Egyptian and considering his incarnation was Japanese, it was only make sense if he had a similar name. But yet he wanted something that would suit him, something that relates to his personality.
'Yami'
Yami. He knew that name. It means "dark" doesn't it? He came to remember when he first met Yugi after the puzzle was solved and his spirit was released.
'Yami'
"Just handing over the money? How boring. Why don't we play a game? Not just any game...a YAMI NO GAME" (shadow game)
That was the first time he was able to see the world again after 3,000 years. He could still remember the fresh scent of air as he escaped from his former prison.
Yami no game...
Shadow games were the only kind of games besides duel monsters Atem had ever played. Back in ancient Egypt, he would use them against convicted criminals to strip them of any lies they were telling, testing what they would do to win the games he created. If they were to be proven guilty, a punishment always awaited them.
A shadow game reveals a person's true character...
However, Atem was no longer like that dark character he used to be. Yet he wanted his name as Yami. He would use it as a reminder of the time he and Yugi met, the first time he was able to be free. He turned to Yugi and spoke, "Yugi."
"What is it?"
"...call me Yami."