AN: Hi. This chapter is very short. It's sort of like a filler. I'm kinda running out of steam here. It's been very busy lately and I'm not well. But you didn't come here to listen to me whine about my health so, here's the (very small) 4th chapter…

Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-gi-oh! Or the characters, I just like to mess with them.

Chapter 4: Sorry

Atemu stared at the white envelope on Yugi's desk, his name written on the front in black ink. There was another one beside it, addressed to Yugi's grandfather, but he paid it no notice. He'd decided to apologize to Yugi and try to talk to him about what was bothering him and had gone into his room, but Yugi wasn't there. This was strange, as it was still quite early in the morning and Yugi was a late-riser. Looking around, he noticed that Yugi's deck was gone, as well as a bag and some clothing. But on the desk, next to the two envelopes, lay the Millennium Puzzle. With a feeling of deep foreboding, he picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a folded letter:

Dear Atemu

This is probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. When I first met you, I was afraid. You were strong, confident and powerful and I was nothing but a short, little high school kid who got bullied by practically everyone. Why should you be any different?

But as time went by, I realized just how special you were. I began to think of you as someone I could depend on and talk to about everything. Then, I lost you. You left for the afterlife and suddenly there was this huge void in my life, a you-shaped hole nothing could fill. Ryou and Malik understood. Even though their Yamis had been sadistic and twisted, they still cared for their hosts, in their own way. And when you're missing half your soul, you tend to look over the other half's 'little flaws'.

But then the three of you came back, and we thought that it was the answer to all our prayers. So what if our friends started to drift away from us? As long as you were there, alive and happy, we were happy.

Now, however, we've discovered that there was a price for this magic that brought you back, a sacrifice we weren't willing to let you make. Somebody had to pay for your return, and that was us. Ishizu did tell us that there was a way to reverse what is happening to us, but that it would happen to you instead. We refused. How could we honestly live our lives, knowing that we'd chosen to save ourselves over you? What kind of Hikaris would we be? I wasn't willing to let it happen, and neither were they. So we continued with our original plan of leaving with Ishizu.

I hope that you have a wonderful life Atemu, and live every moment to the fullest. Take good care of Joey and all our friends, even Kaiba. Please look after my grandfather, and especially yourself. Just know that I regret nothing. I am proud to have been your Hikari.

Goodbye my Yami

Yugi

The letter dropped unnoticed to the floor as tears ran freely down his face. The heart-rending cry that brought Solomon Moto and Joey Wheeler (who'd popped by to see if Atemu had wanted to go to the arcade) running into the room, was filled with immeasurable pain and anger.

(At that very moment, Yugi, Ryou, Malik and Ishizu were boarding the plane to Egypt. Today was the beginning of the end.)

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"Where could they have gone? What do you think is happening to them? Why didn't they tell us? We could've helped! We could've found a way to reverse whatever it is! What do we do now?"

Atemu was pacing the floor, waving his arms around as he ranted and basically being useless in a crisis. He'd never been very good with emotional situations. That was Yugi's department. Comfort and sympathy were not his strong points.

"Would you shut up and sit down! I'm trying to think, and it's very hard to do that with you raving like a lunatic!" Bakura yelled, Ryou's letter still clenched in his fist. He hadn't let go of it since he'd found it a few hours earlier.

Marik was sitting perfectly still, glaring at his letter from Malik as if he expected it to start spouting answers. His eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to him.

"Where would you go if Domino City was no longer an option?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "I'd go to a place that held special meaning to me, to all of us."

Atemu had stopped pacing and was staring at Marik, a look of wonder and understanding on his face. Bakura went rigid as realization hit.

"They're in Egypt!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.

"No duh, Sherlock!" Marik said, also rising from his chair, but there was a large smile on his face.

Atemu grinned. "Who wants to see the pyramids?" he asked.

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AN: Okay, so there's my short chapter 4. I realize that the Yamis were a bit OOC, but the mental image of Atemu pacing around with this whole 'I'm lost' expression and acting all frantic was too perfect. Also, I don't think Bakura is as uncaring and Marik as crazy as everyone makes out. The next chapter will be the last one. I can't wait to post it.