I wonder if anyone knows that i typed this on January 10, 2004. the first chap. ^^. it's now the 13th. Of January, 2004. ^^ Were you confused before? Good. That's good...^^ Heh heh. *evil smile* Hey... now it's the 24th. Interesting... I wanna thank Yugiohchix2008, QueenDragonGoddess, YumeTakato, and Yami Sukano for their reviewz.

*****************************************************

**2***

~~Yugi's thoughts

            I'm a living miracle. And, at the same time,

            I'm a freak of nature. Not only that, but everyone thinks I'm crazy. And the worst part is,

            I'm beginning to believe them. I mean, no one remembers the Millennium Items! No one! How could that be? How can you forget something like that? How can you? Was I... dreaming?

            My father is alive, Jonouchi hates my guts, and half my friends aren't here... The Millennium Puzzle doesn't seem to exist... It just doesn't add up.

            I wish I could talk to the Pharaoh right now... He'd be able to calm me. Not only does everyone think I have an overactive imagination, but, according to them, I was in a coma for two years. My body has been home to a dozen bacteria and viruses. I've almost died a few times!

            So why is my body perfectly fine? It's like I've been living perfectly healthy for the last two years, not in a coma. Hmmm.... It just doesn't make any sense. Am I crazy?

            Or is there something really weird going on here? I can't seem to remember what I was doing when I last saw the Puzzle. I could have sworn I remembered just a few days ago! Why is it I can't remember? I'm so confused.... Where is everyone?

~~

            Yugi was sitting upright in his bed, the blanket pulled to his waist, staring out the window. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes blurring with tears. It hurt his soul to think that all his friends didn't even know he existed. It was strange, because it seemed as if the entire world didn't exist. KaibaCorp was still a militant company, Duel Monsters didn't exist... Neither did the Millennium Items. Yugi couldn't figure it out. His only solution; He was... dreaming?

            Someone appeared at the door to his room. The door was wide open, and whispers and secrets flew all over the hospital. People were beginning to think that being sick for so long caused him to have strange dreams. Others think he has psychological problems. Most people think he's making up a very long, very extravagant story.

            He had attempted to jog Anzu's memory by telling her the story, but it didn't work. She just gave him a very confused look. Yugi had given up.

            The person at the door peered inside. This teenage boy, eighteen years old, was the reason Yugi was here. He had beaten him up -- along with others -- and gave him a very nasty wound. It became infected, and he wound up in the hospital. He was pressed with charges, along with the others, and was brought to court. It was a nation-wide thing about bullying.

            And Jonouchi could kick himself for starting it. He hovered at the doorway, not quite sure if he should go in or not. Yugi didn't seem to be paying any attention to anyone besides himself anyway, so he felt at free liberty to walk into the room.

            "Umm, Yugi?" Jonouchi said slowly, watching Yugi. Yugi spun around and dropped his arms, staring at Jonouchi. He seemed... excited?

            "Jonouchi?" he asked, an edge to his voice. Jonouchi, his hands in his uniform pockets, shrugged.

            "Yeah," was all he said. Yugi seemed overly excited to see him. Then his expression changed; his eyes became less excited, his features falling. He looked at his curled hands, moving his fingers around.

            "I suppose you're not the same Jonouchi-kun I remember," he said, a definite drop to his voice. Jonouchi raised his eyebrows.

            Jonouchi-kun? [1] he thought, but pushed it aside. Jonouchi stood at the edge of the bed.

            Yugi looked so strange; he was in perfect health, and he acted differently then he remembered. Jonouchi looked at his feet, then up at Yugi. Yugi seemed set on not looking at Jonouchi. Jonouchi opened his mouth to say something, when a shrill voice came from the doorway.

            "Jonouchi Katsuya!" Both Jonouchi and Yugi looked up. Anzu was in the doorway, glaring at Jonouchi. She marched into the room, still glaring at him. Jonouchi just stared back.

            "What makes you think you're allowed in here?" she demanded. Jonouchi held up his hands in a defense position.

            "Listen, Anzu," he started. "It's alright. They let me in. Didn't you notice the open door and the police? Listen, it's okay." Anzu didn't seem convinced. She sat down in a metal chair at the end of Yugi's bed, and crossed one leg over the other, her eyes locked on Jonouchi. Jonouchi rolled his eyes.

            "There is supposed to be someone watching you at all times," she muttered. Jonouchi sighed as he sat down next to Yugi's bed, farther up, near his body.

            "Anzu," he said softly. "Trust me."

            "Fuck that," she answered, crossing her arms. Jonouchi scoffed and turned to Yugi.

            "Listen, Yugi," he said, leaning closer to him. Yugi looked up at him. "I suppose you know about what I did..." Yugi shrugged.

            "I honestly don't remember, Jonouchi," he said. He looked back down at his hands. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy, I'm sure you've heard." Jonouchi nodded.

            "What is it you're talking about, Yugi?" he asked. Yugi shrugged.

            "It's just... I don't remember you ever hurting me," he said, looking straight at Jonouchi. He stared right into Jonouchi's eyes, trying to see past this outer Jonouchi. But he couldn't see anything. All he saw was the bully he once was. Yugi wanted to cry. He felt so lost and afraid, and he wished this dream was real, until--

            He saw him. He saw the playful, funny, slightly hentai Jonouchi that lay underneath. Yugi almost laughed with joy.

            He was real. The Jonouchi he remembered was buried deep within this one!

            What's going on? Yugi thought. He jumped back a little ways. He looked at Anzu, then back at Jonouchi.

            "Jonouchi... Would you like to hear what I've been dreaming about?" Jonouchi looked taken aback. "You know, what I thought was going on this whole time." Jonouchi shrugged.

            "Sure."

~~Yugi's thoughts

           

            Well, Anzu is not alone in her confusion. Jonouchi is now confused as well. But I swear, when I looked at his eyes... I could see the old Jonouchi somewhere inside him. This isn't some alternate reality.

            This is the one we've been living in the entire time. Somehow, we were changed, forced to forget everything. Except, of course, I wasn't. I know. I know everything.

            While I was telling Jonouchi the story, he looked like he would agree with some things I said. He also gave a surprised look a couple times, as if he knew what I was talking about. If only there was some inkling of proof I could show them!! Even a piece of the Puzzle would do! But I can't. I can't, because no one would believe me anyway. I couldn't convince everyone else, but maybe, just maybe, I could convince the two people in the room with me.

            I don't know the entire story of what happened to me. All I know is, I've been very, very sick and comatose for the last two years, and then I wake up, and everything is different. Not only that, but I'm suddenly fine! As if I've been asleep or something! It's all so stupid!! According to Jonouchi and Anzu, I was beat up by Jonouchi, Honda, and some other guys from school. I guess I managed to get myself home, but I was bleeding a lot and in really bad shape. One of my wounds was deeply infected, and I collapsed. I wasn't found until nearly four hours later.

            They thought I was dead. I was rushed to the hospital, where they were in the ER for nearly 12 hours with me. Finally, they gave some medicine to calm me down, and I guess that wasn't a smart move, because I fell into a coma and have been that way since.

            I was dumbstruck when I heard the story. It was too much to believe.

            "Wait," I said, holding out my arm. "So, I've been here the past two years?"

            "Yes," Jonouchi said, looking at his hands. He was hunched over, his hands limp in his lap. Anzu closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

            "It was all so much, Yugi," she said softly. "Jonouchi and the rest of them haven't gone anywhere without a police escort in seven months." Jonouchi nodded, still avoiding my eyes.

            "It's all our -- my -- fault," he said. He looked at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. "And you said I was your friend?"

            "Yes," I answered for the umpteenth time. I wanted Jonouchi and Anzu to stop looking so sad and confused.

            That's it. I have to convince them that what I lived was real. That this is all some strange illusion! I saw the real Jonouchi and Anzu, and they recognized my story! I have to find proof for them!!

            Maybe the reason I remember is because of the Millennium Puzzle!

~~

            Yugi was released the next day. Since there was nothing wrong with him, why bother keeping him there? The doctors and nurses who had struggled for two years were all baffled. Yugi voted on walking back with his father, so he could scope out his new environment.

            He was shocked at what he saw.

            "Oh my God," Yugi whispered as they left the more industrious part of town, to arrive in the area where the Game Shop was located. It wasn't the fact that everything was different, that shocked him. It was--

            Everything was the same. Yugi stared in disbelief as the familiar school building loomed in front of him, growing larger in the distance. Since it was around noon, everyone was still in the building, actually at school. Yugi figured he'd never be able to go there again. He was itching to see his friends, or at least the people who once were his friends.

            He was more interested in how they acted now.

            The Kame Game Shop was in the distance, still partially hidden by trees. There was a closed sign on the door, but his father slipped the key in the keyhole and let the two of them in. Yugi looked around, seeing everything as it pretty much usually was. The only difference was the people running the shop.

            Yugi looked around, taking in the familiar sights. He acted eight rather then eighteen.

            "It's exactly the same," he muttered. Jonah laughed.

            "Well, of course it is," he said. "You don't think just because you were always complaining about it being out-of-date that I would just up and change it, do you?" Yugi gave a weak smile and followed his father into the inner holds of the Shop.

            That's where the changes started. Instead of the large, spacious room being particularly empty, it was filled with pictures, furniture and other furnishings. Yugi gasped, stopping in the doorway.

            "Wow," he breathed. Jonah looked down at his son with confusion.

            "Something wrong?" he asked. Yugi shook his head, then ran through the room and up the stairs. Jonah watched as he ran to his room.

            "God, he acts like he's never been here before," Jonah muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked around the room and decided to tidy up a bit, since his son was back home again.

            Yugi arrived to his closed bedroom door. He was almost afraid to open it. His hand lingered on the brass knob, as if it would open for him. Mutou Rachel stopped behind him, watching him. She was headed downstairs.

            "Yugi?" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Yugi jumped and gripped the doorknob tighter, breathing hard. He had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed her presence.

            "Oh, mom," he said, sighing. "Sorry, I..." he trailed off. Rachel placed her hand on top of his.

            "I shut it two years ago," she said softly. "Neither I, nor your father have entered it since. We thought you would never come back." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, as if she would be crying soon. "We didn't want to be reminded of what we lost."

            "So you haven't been in there since?" Yugi asked.

            "Not since we found you in there. At least, I haven't. Your father, being the neat-freak that he is, sometimes goes in there to make sure everything is in order." She opened her eyes and kissed Yugi's cheek, then proceeded downstairs. Yugi turned the knob and pushed open the door. With his eyes closed, he stepped into his old bedroom.

~~Yugi's thoughts

            It was exactly the same as I remembered it. My desk was in front of me against the wall under those bid windows, which sunlight was pouring out of. My bookshelves were pushed against the far wall, the table beside the door, the shelves on the walls... My bed was still made on the other wall. For God sakes, my school books were still open from where I guess I had left them.

            So maybe the Millennium Puzzle was all a dream. I walked forwards and sat down in my desk chair. A thin layer of dust had formed over the books, making them hard to read. I looked up at the two big picture windows, with the bright sunlight pouring into them and onto the desk. My eyes fell onto the far wall, the one my desk was pushed against. My heart fell like it fell out of my chest as I noticed the lack of photos tacked up. I used to have so many photos of me and my friends tacked up there... I put my hand on the wall.

            "I miss it," I whispered. "I miss the way things were."

            All I had left to do now was to see the people who were once my friends.

            I sat there for what seemed like forever. I was just staring at my books, my chin resting on the pages. And, for some strange reason, no memory of that day came to me. The farthest I could remember back before the Millennium Puzzle was solved was when I helped Jonouchi and Honda with Ushio. I stood up for them... Then I solved the Puzzle.

            Obviously, that didn't happen.

            It was then that I saw something glinting out of the corner of my eye. It was in the corner of the room on a shelf, completely hidden from my vision. I could see a tiny speck of gold underneath a blanket. My heart quickened in my chest.

            It was the Puzzle Box! Oh my God! It was!! The Millennium Puzzle! Excited, I ran across the room, threw the blanket aside--

            It wasn't the Puzzle Box. It was a school book, and the kanji on the front of the book and the spine of the book were done in some type of glinting gold fabric. I threw the book to the floor and sullenly stood in the center of the room, my hopes dashed.

            How can this be my life? My life used to be exciting, with a lot of different people involved, and I used to be part of the sacred pact of Osiris... I was smart, I had lots of friends, I was an expert duelist--

            And I had the Pharaoh on my side. Now he wasn't here. Or, what if... This thought lingered in my mind. I couldn't get it to leave me alone.

            What if he didn't exist at all? I shook my head. No, don't think like that, I commanded myself. Of course he existed!! He was the Pharaoh! Not existing might have messed up time! I mean, he probably existed just without... The Puzzle.

            I looked at the clock. It flashed 3:09 at me. School had been out for nine minutes.

            I was intrigued to see my friends walk by. Almost everyone in the school had to pass this area, since we were on a corner. Downtown was just a few blocks later on.

            "Mom," I called as I raced down stairs. "I'm gonna sit outside for awhile." I ran out the door of the Game Shop to be met with the traffic that was around here every single day. I sat down on the bench that was partially hidden by bushes and shaded by trees near the Shop, and waited until the students passed.

            "I wonder..." I said to myself, biting my lower lip. I looked through the milling crowd, trying to see a familiar face.

            When I saw one.

            Not one I meant to see, however. I had to cover my mouth with my hand so I wouldn't cry out.

            Bakura Amane was impatiently waiting for someone. She was leaning against the rail at the edge of the road, where the city ended and the sea began. She was wearing that familiar white school uniform from the all girls school in Tokyo. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting her hair billow out in the breeze. It was a pretty mahogany color, and it was very long, reaching down her back. She was a very lovely twenty-two-year-old girl, except for the fact that she was dead.

            But she was standing in front of me, alive and well, waiting, most likely, for Ryou. And then he showed up.

            "Amane!" Amane turned and smiled. Ryou ran up to her and leaned on the rail beside her, talking animatedly.

            Of course. Duh. Ryou was much quieter before because of Amane's untimely death. The two walked away, Ryou a very different person then I remembered.

            One down.

            Soon, more of my classmates came by. They walked by without even noticing me, not that I wanted them to. Most of them were pretty much the same, except they were wearing different school uniforms. I saw Anzu go by, talking to someone I didn't know. I didn't see Jonouchi, Honda or Otogi, but I was surprised to see Shizuka walk by. She was talking to someone that was in my class, a guy who was probably two years older then herself. She was holding his arm and watching him intently, but she wasn't really focused on him. She seemed to strain herself in listening then watching.

            Wait... Didn't Otogi and Honda always fight over her? Why weren't they there? And why wasn't Jonouchi telling this guy off? He got very protective when it came to Shizuka. Yet...

            Oh. My. God.

            Shizuka wasn't focused on that guy... because she had cataracts in her eyes. She couldn't see him!

            She was blind! I nearly fell off the bench as she walked by. No wonder she was hanging onto him! No wonder she seemed shaky with each step! She couldn't see!

            I straightened myself up, and shook my head. It was a complete and total shock. I had never thought of that! Shizuka was affected by Jonouchi becoming a duelist! And with Duel Monsters existing, there was no way for her to have that operation! It was then that the full power and persuasion of the Item's existence sunk in. Nearly everyone's lives were affected by this.

            Is everyone like this now, too?

~~

            Anzu didn't want to scare him, but he wasn't paying attention. She was stepped onto the grass and pushed branches aside as she approached the bench Yugi was perched on. She tapped his shoulder lightly, making him spin around.

            "Anzu!"

            "I'm sorry," she said quickly, then she sat down. The two sat there for a few minutes not saying anything. Then--

            "Is everything different?" Anzu asked. Yugi shrugged.

            "Yes and no. I mean, my home is different, I guess because my dad is alive, but still... That's not much of a difference." Anzu nodded. "And the people who were once my friends all seem pretty different... From what I've seen." He looked up at Anzu. "Where are Jonouchi and Honda and Otogi?" Anzu shrugged.

            "Those three? They're some of the people responsible for this mess," she explained. "They come into school, leave school, sometimes there hear a full day, sometimes they're pulled out for some legal reason..." She waved one of her hands in a flip-flop motion as if to say Whatever. Yugi just looked at the grass underneath his feet.

            "I wish I could find proof," he said, balling his hands into fists. "Pictures or something, you know? Maybe to prove that I'm either right or wrong." Anzu smiled and stood.

            "I have to get home," she explained, laying her bag on her shoulder. "You do what you want to, Yugi. I'm just glad you're alive." Yugi smiled at her receding back, then leaned against the back of the bench.

            "I guess, if I don't find anything soon," he whispered to himself. "I'll forget everything." Because, try as he might, he couldn't remember what he had been doing. The last thing he remembered was a blur. And many of the other things he went through.

            It was fading from his memory.

            Anzu pushed her bed back into place, the small pile of debris being dumped into a trash bag.

            "Are you sure you want to get rid of all these papers, Anzu?" her mother asked. Anzu nodded and poured in some more things.

            "Under my bed was so messy with all these school papers."

            "Your desk as well." Anzu dropped another pile in, wiping her hands on the rug and smiling. Dust circulated in the room, making her cough a little. She fell back onto her palms, papers rustling aside. She opened her eyes and brushed dust off her face, when she saw a small amount of color in the corner of her eyes.

            It was a photo. Without her mother noticing, she grabbed up the small pile and dumped them on her bed, dropping her pillow on top of them.

            "Well, that's everything," her mother said, and she hauled the trash bag out of the room. Anzu closed her bedroom door and grabbed the photos in her hands. Her eyes widened as she stared at the three photos.

            "How-- How--" she said, staring at them. Her hands shook, then she dropped them, scared at the mental image that had flashed through her mind.

            She remembered these times. When these photos were taken. Breathing hard, she was determined to go to Yugi. But it was late, nearly nine thirty.

            "Tomorrow," she vowed, looking down at the photos. "I'll show him tomorrow." The reason she was so hyped up was because she saw herself, Yugi, Jonouchi, Ryou, Honda, Otogi, and Shizuka, arm-in-arm, wearing Duel Disks, the Millennium Puzzle hanging from Yugi's neck.

*******************************************

Footnotes:

[1] Jonouchi-kun: "kun" is a suffix used when talking about a male friend who is a teenager or adult. So, you commonly hear in YGO "Jonouchi-kun", "Honda-kun" and "Bakura-kun". Sometimes "Otogi-kun" and "Yugi-kun" or "Kaiba-kun" (yugi says EVERYONE "kun" in the first series, the one that was cancelled? I swear to GOD... he's like fricken "sky-kun" for gods sakes!) You would normally address Mokuba as "Mokuba-chan" because he's ten, and all girls would be like "Anzu-chan" and such. Someone you know or work with would be, like "Isis-san" and someone you look up to like a boss or a priest would be like "Malik-sama" and "Pharaoh-sama" and such. ^^

~*~*~*~

So, just so yall know, this fic might not be very long... Of course it can be very long... It all comes down to timing. Whether I have Yugi notice the box or not. ^^ Newayz... I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a long time to write and plan. I hope you all enjoyed it very much.

Shibby-One