Heh, it's been another couple of months, hasn't it? Well, I'm more than certain that you could entirely blame that one on me. I don't mind. There's quite a few things different with this chapter, and the rest of the story will probably vary until I actually go and edit it like I should. This is probably going to end up taking a lot longer than I'd like for it to, but I do have other things to do with my life. Including finishing Tear Me Apart. I will try my best to move as quickly as I can! Enjoy!

A/N: Hello, again. It's only been 5 days... that's not actually that bad, if I do say so myself. Well, here's another chapter of "Reflection". Oh, and before I forget (again), I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. Thanks for the reviews, and please review again.

Reflection

Chapter One: Fifteen Years Later

Amethyst eyes stared out of the car window, watching as the world zoomed past them. Their surroundings were slowly changing from the long, seemingly never-ending highway to the busy highrises of the city. He was biting at his bottom lip, rolling it anxiously between his teeth. It had been almost fifteen years since the last time that he had seen any of this and to be honest, he couldn't really remember anything that happened before his parents split up. Vague memories of a young boy that had shared his features filled his mind.

He hadn't seen his twin at all in the years since his parents divorced. Nothing more than old photos hidden away in the back of his father's closet. Chances were that if he hadn't found them than he wouldn't have even vaguely remembered the crimson eyed boy; he probably would have dismissed those early memories as nothing more than a fantasy or a dream. He would have obliviously gone through life completely dismissing the empty feeling that sometimes overwhelmed him entirely.

But now he knew.

He just hoped that he'd be able to find his twin in this huge mess of a city. Especially after he'd come this far.

"Stop worryin' yourself to death, Yug'. What was it that ya always tell me? Things always work out for the best or some other shit like that?"

Yugi jumped at the suddenly spoken words, having completely forgotten that he wasn't the only person in the car at the moment. He glanced over at the blond man sitting in the driver's seat, who was, in turn, glancing over at him every couple of seconds or so. His shoulders dropped at the sight, and he went back to biting his bottom lip once more. He really hadn't meant to make his best friend worry, especially when in a short little while they would be roommates as well.

That was the last thing that he wanted.

"Everything has a reason and that reason is what makes everything worthwhile," the amethyst eyed man recited with ease, "It's just... so hard, Jou. I barely remember him and that's only because of the photos. What's to say that he'll remember me or that he still even lives here? I might not be able to find him here."

"You'll find him, Yug'. I know ya, and ya won't give up for anything, even when it seems to be the obvious choice," Jou replied, confidently.

"Thanks, I... really needed to hear that. I do hope that you're right though."

The blond man seemed to relax at his words, and Yugi focused back on the rapidly changing scenery moving past them. He knew that Jou was rather worried himself, even if it wasn't about the same things that he was worried about. His best friend was more worried about what he would if his twin wasn't the person that he hoped that he would be. If the crimson eyes twin was cruel and didn't even give a shit about him.

In other words, everything that he didn't think was even a possibility.

The scenery suddenly changed again as they drove into an underground parking lot. Amethyst eyes blinked as his eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden darkness around them. His hand slipped into his pocket, gently grasping the cool metal of the key that he'd received the week before. The numbers "411" were etched into it as clear as day. The key was the only evidence of the joint birthday and Christmas present that the two of them had gotten.

The car slowed down to a stop as they parked in one of the parking spaces available for them. The two of them sat there for a few moments, soaking in the moment. In a few minutes, they'd be upstairs in their new apartment with no one else around. No parents, no neighbours that they'd known for years and years, and no other friends except for each other.

"Ready to go, Yug'?" Jou asked, slowly putting his hand on the door handle.

Yugi nodded slowly as he opened his own door and climbed out of the car. The moist smell of the parking lot assaulted his nose as he took in the lot filled with cars, cement, and artificial lighting. The trunk of the car opened with a click and he struggled slightly as he pulled one of the large suitcases out of the back. Their parents had been by a couple of times throughout the week to drop off the essentials but this was the first time that they'd actually been here themselves.

The trunk clicked again as it was closed a few moments later. Jou followed him as he headed over to the elevator after he grabbed his own suitcase with considerably more ease than Yugi had. The amethyst eyed man pressed the button for the elevator, and he couldn't have been luckier as it opened immediately. The two of them stepped inside, Yugi leaning against the wall of the elevator while the blond stood beside him, slouching slightly.

Nervousness welled up in him as the numbers slowly went up on top of the elevator door. His own place, even if it was being shared with Jou. He was about to enter his own apartment for the very first time in Domino City; far, far away from the small town that he'd grown up in. And he couldn't help but think about his twin wandering around the city, somewhere, just waiting for him to find him. The elevator finally opened a few moments later, and within seconds they were standing outside of apartment 411.

Their apartment.

Yugi stood there for a few moments, his hand on the doorknob. His suitcase was right beside him and the key was in the lock. But he couldn't quite bring himself to turn it. The moment that he did just that, a new part of his life would begin. And hopefully he would be able to regain a part of his old life... a part that he could barely even remember anymore.

"Come on, Yug'! We can't just stand here, waiting for the door to open itself," Jou suddenly complained.

Only it seemed like his best friend wasn't quite as sentiment as he was about this entire thing. He rolled his eyes at the stereotypical complaint before he finally turned the doorknob and opened the front of their new apartment. Jou quickly pushed past him, obviously a bit fed up with the amount of time he was taking. Or rather, the blond was a lot more eager for this than he was. Granted, Jou didn't have quite as much at stake here in this city as he did.

Dragging his suitcase behind him, he entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. Jou was standing there, in awe, just a few feet in front of him. The apartment opened up to the kitchen with the living room area on the other side of the room. At the very far wall, there was a sliding glass door with a small balcony. And then to the right was a small hallway that undoubtedly led to the two bedrooms and the bathroom. All of it was theirs, without even a single doubt. This entire place would be their new home.

"It's perfect," the smaller man murmured, "I didn't think that it would be this perfect."

"Neither did I," Jou whispered, before grinning, "I call the bigger bedroom!"

Amethyst eyes rolled as the blond man ran off into the small hallways, his suitcase throwing itself back and forth as it rolled behind him. There was no point in trying to stop his best friend, he'd never make it there in time to stop the other and Jou was just so stubborn when it came to these sorts of things.

His own suitcase was set to the side for the moment and he started to look through the apartment. He had already been well aware that Jou's mom had been here before they had been given the keys earlier that day, but he hadn't been aware of how much she had brought over here. Cheap dishes filled the cupboards, a few dishtowels were laying around, and there was even a cheap toaster on the kitchen counter. Not to mention that there was food already in the fridge along with a note on a nice, Saran-a-wrapped dinner saying "love you". Jou's mom had really gone all out in the past day or two.

Finally, he decided to go find his own bedroom, his suitcase rolling nicely behind him. The room in front of him was foreign, he realized as he opened the door but it wouldn't be for all that much longer. His gaze wandered along the queen sized bed and the wide window. He realized, a moment later with a sense of glee that it overlooked a nearby park.

A knock on the door suddenly made him jump, even though there was only one person that it could possibly be.

"Oh yeah, Yug', I forgot to say! Happy Birthday!" Jou exclaimed, a grin on his face, "No, I'm going to see if there's any food around here."

Yugi's eyes widened and his expression melted into a grin. But before he could thank his best friend, the blond was already long gone, shouting about the food that he had found earlier. He really shouldn't be so surprised, really.

A crimson eyed man leaned against the counter of a small coffee shop, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. It was a stereotypical Thursday afternoon for the shop with only a few people lingering around. Which was all the better for the man at the counter. He didn't exactly enjoy wearing a pink, frilly apron and the white haired mess up of a friend cackling away in the back room wasn't exactly helping him in that regard.

He rolled his eyes as a couple started to make out with each other in the back of the shop, trying his very best not to glare at them. It wasn't like it was their fault that it had been over a year since the last time that he so much as kissed another person outside of drunken interactions. That wasn't anyone's fault but his own, really. If someone could even be blamed for that.

"Quit your pouting, it's only for the day and then you can go back to wearing the regular uniform," his best friend informed him, before bursting into laughter once again, "It's been two weeks since your birthday, after all! So it's no doubt that your so-called 'birthday luck' ran out!"

Yeah, the white haired man definitely wasn't helping his mood right about now.

He almost wished that Seto or Marik were here with him instead of Bakura but that was entirely impossible. It was either Bakura or no one, after all. As his jerk of a friend was the only one that actually worked here with him. His other two friends had proper, high-paying jobs at respectable places.

"You're just jealous because you don't get to wear this sexy apron," he countered, running a hand along the pink fabric.

Bakura snorted from the back room, "Yeah, that's most definitely it right there."

The bell from the door jingled and he looked up almost immediately. A dejected looking young man walked in, looking just a bit younger than he was. The man almost seemed as if the entire world had crushed down around him. His eyes were downcast and he was biting at his bottom lip. The crimson eyes man couldn't shake the sense that the new customer was familiar to him though. That he knew him from somewhere.

He just couldn't figure out where.

"How can I help you this afternoon?" he asked, forcing a smile onto his face.

Beautiful amethyst eyes suddenly looked right at him and for a moment, he was completely breathless. That sense of familiarity was almost overwhelming him but he still couldn't even begin to place. The customer's eyes widened for a brief moment and then he shook his head, almost as if he were dismissing something.

"A medium jasmine tea and a chocolate chip muffin," the amethyst eyed man replied, his voice soft.

"Alright, that will be $5.25, thank you very much," he nodded, before muttering under his breath, "I swear that I know you from somewhere."

Flashes of a small boy ran through his mind as he prepared the hot water and put one of the large chocolate chip muffin onto a small plate. And his mother had always told him how grateful he should be that he wasn't like his twin brother. But that was completely impossible. His brother, whose name he couldn't even remember, was still living in their childhood home as far as he knew.

"Here you go," he said, handing the strange customer his order.

The young man nodded, taking it.

He watched as the strangely familiar customer walked over to one of the nearby tables, setting his bag in the chair beside him. He sighed and glanced back into the room behind him, the small staff room with its door wide open. Bakura had been awfully quiet for the last few minutes, and it was a bit suspicious. No evil cackling or loud jokes. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the white haired man wasn't even there at all.

"Bakura, if you're sleeping back there, I swear you'll be the one wearing this damn apron next!" he called, glaring at the open door.

"Fuck, I wasn't sleeping, Atemu!" Bakura called back, before muttering, "Yet."

"I heard that!"

"You were supposed to!"

He rolled his eyes, until a quiet gasp captured his attention instead. Atemu quickly glanced towards the customers, his eyes almost immediately caught the wide gaze of the amethyst eyed man who was staring right at him. Confusion and disbelief were only a few of the things that were visible on the man's face, mixed in with a little bit of hope. Hope for what, he wasn't exactly sure but the customer had just stood up. And was walking straight for him without a doubt.

"At... Atemu?" the customer spoke up, his voice wavering.

The man looked as if he wanted to say something more, anything more but wasn't capable of managing a single word. Two names suddenly ran through his mind, not names that his mother had told him but names that Seto had mentioned when he'd asked if the other knew anything about his twin. But that wasn't possible, was it?

The chances of running into him here of all places had to be next to none.

"Yugi?" he whispered, crimson eyes wide, "Are you Yugi?"

The amethyst eyed man's expression seemed to change completely. Gone was the defeated look that had been there before, the look that told everyone of the horrible day or maybe even week that he'd been having. A wide smile spread across his face and Atemu was struck by an even stranger sense of familiarity than he had been before. He couldn't ignore it, there was no doubt in his mind.

"Fuck, that kid looks a lot like you!"

Atemu's gaze snapped towards Bakura, eyes wide. It was almost like he was surprised that his best friend had come up to the counter, when it really shouldn't have been a surprise in the least. His heart was thrumming away in his chest, beating at an impossible rate. His eyes flickered back over to the strange customer for a moment.

"I can't really say for certain but I'm almost entirely sure that that would be because he'd my brother," Atemu paused for a moment, "My twin brother, in fact."

"I... well, damn. I can't say that I was really expecting that one," Bakura admitted.

Atemu couldn't help but to look back over at Yugi, smiling over at the young man. The white haired man beside him scoffed and he almost forgot for a second that he was wearing a pink, frilly apron. Maybe this was your stereotypical Thursday afternoon after all. Well, there was one thing that he did know and that was that his birthday luck hadn't quite run out yet.

Jou leaned against the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd of people in front of him. Men and women, all half-naked in one way or another, crowded around, dancing almost as if they were a singular mass instead of over a hundred different entities. There was a drink in his own hand but he had no intent on getting wasted... at least not tonight. This was his first time here after all, although he had wanted to check this place out for the last few weeks now.

"Why, hello there, sexy. You must be new around here; I don't think that I've ever seen you around before."

A body pressed up against him and he glanced over, his eyes widening at what he saw there. It was a woman standing there beside him, her hair long and blonde and her lips full and red. And then she looked at him through those long, dark eyelashes of hers, her violet eyes staring right at him. She was more gorgeous than anyone else that he had ever seen.

"I am new here, actually. Just moved to the big city with a friend of mine a couple a weeks ago. Would have come here sooner if I'd known that the women here were so beautiful," he commented, letting his eyes wander over her more than generous chest.

She laughed softly, the sound almost like music to his ears, "Been a while since we had any new meat around here. I have to admit that the guys around here have been getting a little bit... boring for my tastes. Just between you and me, I could use a bit more excitement in my life."

He could see her eyes running down his body without even the slightest bit of remorse. Studying him, comparing him to whatever men she had been with before him. His tongue ran over his bottom hip and he was half tempted to grab her hand and lead her to the back alleyway without another thought. That would be such a waste though... he had every intention of savouring this moment for all it was worth. A sort of celebration, in his own little way.

"I think that I could supply a bit more excitement for a small fee. A dance, if you wish, and a name. That's the only thing that I ask for," he agreed, his eyes darkening.

She leaned up, letting her lips ghost over his ears, "My name is Mai Kujaku and I promise that you'll be dreaming about me for a long time, sexy. I'll make you feel better than any little girl every could before me."

Jou grinned and took a hold of her wrist, leading her out into the crowd of people. He was definitely going to be up for a long night tonight. The music pounding around him and the alcohol running through his body; it was all nothing compared to the sweet nectar of Mai Kujaku.