Thank everyone SO much for the amazing amount of response I got to this story! I'm going to warn you now that the next chapter might be a little short. Nothing too bad, and this chapter's a little long, so it should balance out ^_^ but anyways, yeah. Total thanks and gratification!

ON WITH THE PUZZLESHIPPING!

Yuugi's POV
I was being ravaged, torn in half by a pack of hungry wolves. Wolves or wild dogs. I couldn't see through the haze of the pain to tell anything specific.
"YAMI!" I screamed, trying desperately to reach him. He'd help me, he'd save me, he'd be there for me and hold me in his arms, whisper everything's alright. Maybe, if I was lucky, I was close enough to death to finally get that kiss.
Then, the most terrifying thing yet happened.
The pack leader began to speak to me.
"He'll never get here. He left you, you little maggot! Now you'll die, cold and alone. Not that you would've expected it any other way." He snarled, and then his choked laughter rang in my ears. I felt terror welling up inside of me, so much it choked out my very breath. "Hell, he never even loved you!"
"You lie!" I shouted, clinging fast to the only truth I knew. That no matter what anyone said, he did love me, and if he could remember me, he still did.
"Then why did he leave?" The wolf snarled, crouching down. I began to cry then terrible sobs. It wasn't his choice to leave. The leader laughed and laughed, and he lunged, tearing into the flesh of my face.
I sat up in bed with a sharp gasp, realizing immediately that my shoulders were being shaken. I looked up to see Joey's face staring down apprehensively into mine. He looked panicked, surprised, and shaken. He looked… almost like he'd seen a ghost.
"There's something you'll want to see." He said excitedly, practically dragging me out of the bed by my right arm. I didn't bother to put on my shirt, and he flinched when he saw how skinny I'd become.
After the Pharaoh left, I'd almost completely stopped eating. I couldn't bear it. The joy had been snuffed out of my life, I had absolutely no reason to be hungry. The only reason I was still alive was because of my grandfather all but forcing food down my throat constantly, saving his go-to line for when I got really, truly bad. The Pharaoh did love you, Yuugi. He wouldn't have wanted this for you.
I walked out to the living room to find that the entire gang was sprawled out in front of the television, staring at the screen like the apocalypse had just begun.
I sighed, flopping down on the couch. Everyone moved so that I could see the television perfectly. Wonderful, it was show and tell time.
My grandpa pressed the un-pause button, and I watched with vague disinterest.
"Breaking news, a man shows up in Tennessee speaking fluent Japanese. He can't remember who he is or even where he came from. If you know this man-" She stated, and I completely stopped paying attention to her words. Instead, I was focused on the gorgeous face that had flashed up alongside her. There was absolutely no way. It was impossible, it couldn't possibly be…
"Pharaoh?" I whispered, barely able to actually speak. I stared brokenly at the screen. My other half, my lover, my everything. He was there. He was alive. In America. Just a plane ride away.
We could kiss for the first time.
I stood, and then promptly dropped to my knees in front of the screen. I was staring at the television with a mixture of hope, disbelief, joy, and uncertainty. All different emotions, which seemed to be tugging me in very different directions.
"Yuugi?" My grandfather asked gently, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"He's really… here?" I whispered, scared that if I spoke too loud I'd wake up from this obvious, delicious dream I was having. Even though I knew it would crush me later, I couldn't have a dream this sweet being ruined.
"Yes. I know you're shocked, but you need to go and pack your bags now. Kaiba said he'd be here in half an hour to pick us up-" He started, but the rest was white noise to my ears. I ran to my bedroom and threw open the door, going straight to my drawers and beginning to eagerly shove things into my suitcase. I was shaking with pure adrenaline, excitement and anticipation washing over me in waves. I didn't think, just shoved in anything that I could.
I paid attention to what I was doing long enough to shove in a couple clean pair of underwear and my leather outfit; the one that the Pharaoh had once commented that it looked especially good, if not a little bit sexy on me.
As a last minute thought, I grabbed my poetry book and the millennium puzzle and shoved both into my bag eagerly, zipping it up quickly.
I was shaking so hard, from a mixture of fear, exhilaration, everything. He meant, still means, everything to me, and I thought he was gone forever. This wide awake nightmare, this hell I'd been living in, would finally be over.
If this was a dream, I never wanted it to end. I could pass away in my sleep, would almost rather it at this point, if I had to wake up from something so very beautiful. This alternating reality was so close to perfection. I wouldn't even have to die in my sleep, even. I wouldn't have the heart to go on at this point.
I took my bag, no almost overflowing, into the kitchen and set it down to wait. I couldn't deal with the crowd out in my living room; even if they were my friends, I needed to organize my own thoughts.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, Kaiba pulled up in a small car. It probably was nothing compared to the limousines he was used to, but it's not like he was bringing the car with us to America, so I figured he could handle it.
I shoved my bags in without a second glance and practically threw myself into the back seat, my desperation showing much more clearly than it had been intended to. Everyone seemed to be moving around me in slow motion, and I was itching to go. I needed to see him, needed to prove to myself that he was really real. I needed to see his face, I needed desperately to feel his arms around me.
We drove to the airport in stony silence, me twiddling my thumbs, bouncing my leg, twitching a little, or basically doing anything and everything to get out my nervous energy. I had so much tension it was unreal, and I had nearly no way to outlet it all.
Once we got on the plane, my Grandpa was trying to get me to calm down, sit down, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't force myself to. I was pacing like mad and couldn't stop myself. If I fell asleep, I might find out that this was the dream, and I couldn't put myself through that. Not when I was mere hours away from everything I'd longed for the last year of my life. Everything I'd been wishing and hoping for. My Yami.
So I paced. I paced for hours straight, not being able to sit down. Grandpa offered me food, but I turned up my nose and kept pacing. There was no way I could focus on eating right then.
I sat down eventually, with only two hours of the flight left to go. I didn't sleep, though. That would have been impossible. I sat and stared at the window, not really paying attention to what was on the outside right then. I was in my own little world. I didn't want to have to think about something else.
I needed to think about him, about what it would feel like when we touched. About what I was going to say when I saw him again and looked up into those gorgeous, slightly crimson eyes.
What did you say to the love of your life when you had been separated for a year? Were there even words to be spoken, or just gentle caresses accompanied by a warm embrace and (hopefully) a warm kiss? What would I do when I saw him again?
It felt like a million year since I'd last seen him.
Finally, we climbed in a large car that Kaiba had picked out himself, (It was a jeep and was absolutely massive, I had to practically catapult myself up) and began the hour long drive to the hospital.
I was absolutely frozen the whole way, looking out the window idly. I found that I couldn't actually think, couldn't concentrate on anything but the look on his face in that picture. A smile that was warm and dashing, and melted my heart.
It'd been so long, years even, since we'd left the house. We pulled up to the hospital so slowly, and I felt like I was going to explode from frustration. I climbed out and waited impatiently for Kaiba and my Grandfather to follow.
I briskly lead the way into the hospital, resisting the strong urge to run straight through the doors. I walked up to the attended, having never been more thankful in all of my life for the annoyance that was my English classes.
"The man who doesn't remember who he is, we're here for him." I said flatly. She didn't argue at all, instead rising from her seat behind the desk and waving for me to follow. I figured she assumed we were brothers or something, since we looked so alike.
"Oh, he's just a doll! Thanks to that translator, we've had a few conversations and he's real interestin'!" She exclaimed in a cute southern accent. Apparently, she'd been talking some to him.
She paused after tapping the correct door, walking away briskly. She probably assumed from the look on my face that I wanted to have some privacy, and three wasn't exactly very private.
Then it hit me hard, like a punch in the stomach.
What if he didn't remember me?
I shook the idea off. It seemed so impossible. Of course he'd remember me, with all we'd been through together. I was his love.
I took a long, shaky breath of anticipation as I placed my hand on the door. It creaked as it opened, and I peaked my head around the side.
My heart busted with joy. He was there. He was really, truly here. My love, my other half, my everything, was... there. I felt like my knees were jell-o when he glimpsed me from over the cover of a book.
I slowly and tentatively walked inside, seeing his eyes follow me all the way to the end of the bed. I kept eye contact with him the entire way, feeling my heart melt.
"Pharaoh?" I whispered brokenly,looking up at him hopefully. My heart swelled and I felt like I was going to collapse from how badly I wanted him to run and hold me in his arms, kiss away the pain I felt from losing him.
"Do I know you?" He asked, looking confused.
My heart shattered. Of course it would be my luck. How could fate be so cruel , so... heartless as to give him back, only to take away everything we previously had? I wanted to cry. I wanted to weep and yell and scream, even though I knew that there was nobody to blame, I wanted to blame someone for what had happened. I took a shaky breath instead, trying to concentrate on the positive. I can deal with him not loving me, as long as he was here.
"You could say that." I said flatly, fighting back the tears. I walked up close to him. He sat up and looked at me curiously, just like he used to when I'd tell him something, and I felt my heart melt again. I'd never stopped loving him, even when I thought him to be dead.
"Were we related?" He asked, and I sighed. This was most likely going to be a very long day for me, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't get any easier. But he was here now, and I could see him, I might be able to touch him if I worked up the courage, maybe a hug. That would make it worth all of this, worth the pain of him not loving me, just a hug...
"Not exactly." I replied with a smile, walking up even closer. I reached out tentatively to place a hand on his shoulder, feeling his warmth through his clothes. I'd waited so long to touch him... He was there, he was finally tangible.
The Pharaoh looked slightly confused, but but didn't shy away from my touch.
"We look so alike." He said, his voice filling with wonder. I looked up into his eyes and smiled. Yes, we looked alike, but there were differences that really turned us into individuals.
"Not as much as you might think." I said, smiling a little more. Even if he didn't remember me, he was still my Pharaoh. He still meant so much to me, I still loved him.
"How can we look so alike and not be related?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. I rolled my eyes a little, transferring my weight to my hip.
"It's a long story, and your situation itself is probably a lot to handle." I said, flinching. I realized then that I had a monumental decision to make, and what I decided could very well influence our future together, whether or not he accepted me as a friend again.
Should I tell him that we'd been together? How would he take it? Would he even believe me when I said it, or reject my words with disgust?
Would he be able to love me back?