As Atem and Yugi neared Redostrin, apprehension began to build around Yugi like a storm cloud, growing thicker and darker with every mile they put behind them. "If all goes well we won't be there long," Atem said, in an attempt to encourage him. Yugi humored him with a feeble smile.

Cheering him up might have been easier if he'd known exactly what was eating the young man. Atem considered asking him now, once and for all, what had happened to isolate him from his people so completely. But he decided against it. In only a few more hours, he would see the answer for himself.

Soon the sun began to fall, and as the sky started to darken, a cluster of lights became visible on the horizon. They were multicolored and seemed to shimmer like an aurora. "Is that it?" Atem asked, turning to Yugi, whose face had taken on a sickly hue of pale green. He nodded mutely, then put a hand to his stomach as if struggling not to vomit.

The magician's city was guarded by a high wall of white stone. Above it glowed a translucent web of green light—some sort of protective spell, Atem imagined. Great sea-blue crystals flanked an open wooden gate; Atem's horse gave a low whinny of unease as they passed through it. Within, the roads were narrow and paved with a sandy-colored stone. From the ivy-covered walls of the buildings that surrounded them, paper lanterns dangled, concealing floating wisps of flame shaded red and yellow and white. The mysterious little lights illuminated an army of kiosks and vendor stands on either side of the road, though they were largely deserted, shut up for the night.

"It's late. We'll need to find someplace to stay," Yugi said.

"And something to eat," Atem said, rubbing at his stomach. He'd forgotten how much he hated travelling rations.

Yugi urged his grey pony forward with a light tap of his heels, leading Atem through the congested streets to a building that was propped up on stilts like a pier. Beneath it grew a patch of grass on which a pair of horses were grazing. "I used to come here every weekend," Yugi told him, dismounting lightly and sending his pony off into the field. Though hesitant to leave his horse unguarded and unrestrained, Atem followed suit.

"For dinner?" Atem asked.

"Yeah, and… you know… to get away," Yugi answered. "It was better than my dorm room. I could be by myself—get some real work done."

Yugi led Atem up a short set of stairs and in through the front door. Only a few men sat at the bar and the tables that scattered the room; each had some unusual feature—blue hair, gold eyes, pupils shaped like spirals or stars. Every one of them turned to stare when Atem stepped inside, and he froze, feeling wretchedly out of place. Was it that obvious he didn't belong? Or was his self-consciousness giving him away?

Ignoring them, Yugi headed up to the bar and sat down, and Atem hurried to take a seat at his side. A rosy-cheeked woman in a low-cut black velvet dress stepped up to them from behind the counter, beaming though her smile seemed wearied. "What can I get you two?" she asked. She rested her hands against the bar and leaned forward ever so slightly, baring a bit more of her creamy white décolletage. A trick to get more tips, perhaps, though Yugi seemed too distracted to even notice.

"Noodles and tea—what about you?" Yugi asked, glancing over at Atem.

"The same," Atem said.

The woman straightened up, smile fading somewhat. "Coming right up." As she left, Atem took a moment to glance up at the menu above their heads—and nearly fainted. Thirty kor for a bowl of noodles! Six, for a cup of coffee!

"You came here every week?" Atem croaked. What they'd just ordered would have cost him a day's wages at his salary!

"Yeah. I'd already started peddling, um… well… I guess you could call them enhancement potions," Yugi said, lowering his voice to a whisper. Blood rose to his face, and Atem couldn't help but smirk a little. "Stop it."

"Oh, come on, Yugi," Atem chided, grinning at him. "You have to admit it's a little amusing—someone like you, selling something like that."

Yugi whipped around to face him. "What's that supposed to mean!?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Atem laughed with a shake of his head. "Nothing!" he insisted, when Yugi continued to glower at him.

The young waitress swept out of the kitchen, two large porcelain bowls floating in the air behind her. They gentled settled onto the bar top as she removed two sets of cutlery from the pockets of her apron. "I'll have your tea in just a minute," she said.

"Smells good," Atem declared. Thin noodles and a poached egg sat in a pool of rich broth, garnished with green onions. He took up his fork and spoon like a man arming himself for battle, pulled his bowl closer, then dug in wildly, spraying broth everywhere in his haste.

Meanwhile, Yugi picked at his plate with little appetite, pushing the noodles around in circles. Atem sat up, cheeks bulging with food, and looked over at him. "You know," he said, swallowing hard and feeling the under-chewed lump of pasta force its way down his throat, "if you're not going to eat that…"

Wordlessly, Yugi pushed his serving over, and Atem dumped its contents into his bowl with gusto. "You're probably wondering why I'm making such a big deal out of all this," Yugi murmured. "Coming back." Unsure what to say, Atem said nothing. Yugi let out a short sigh. "You… might have noticed that I'm pretty good at what I do. I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but—"

"It doesn't," Atem assured him. He could have called himself a master and been selling himself short—as far as Atem was aware, he was one of the best in the world.

The waitress brought out their tea, and Yugi heaped sugar into his cup, stirring listlessly. "When you can do the kinds of things that I can," he said, "people start to… expect things from you. Everybody I knew wanted something, all the time, and I… I just couldn't take it anymore." He hung his head, yellow bangs falling forward to cover his eyes. "I ran away. I left a note for my roommate and I ran away and I haven't been back since."

"How long has it been?" Atem asked.

"Five years."

"And no one came looking for you?" Atem couldn't imagine how someone could let a friend up and vanish like that. If Yugi ever decided to disappear one day, Atem would have scoured the earth until he got him back.

"I don't know. I didn't make myself easy to find," Yugi answered. He took a sip of his tea. "I probably disappointed everyone," he said quietly.

"That isn't your fault. They're the ones who decided that your talent was their property," Atem told him. "I know you might feel some obligation to use what you have to better the world, and that's fine. But you're also perfectly within your rights to say to hell with it all and open up a haberdashery somewhere." Yugi chuckled. "You don't have to do what everybody asks of you, Yugi. I'm not certain that you even should."

Yugi's only response was a thin-lipped smile; it was clear from his expression that he wasn't convinced. "Hey. Look at me," Atem said, nudging him in the arm until he looked up and met Atem's eyes. "Whatever happens at the university tomorrow, I want you to promise me you won't agree to anything you don't want to. All right?"

"All right."

"You mean it?"

"I mean it. No matter what happens, I'll just… get all this over with and come home," Yugi assured him. Now it was Atem's turn to be unconvinced, but Yugi didn't seem eager to discuss the matter further. Returning to his bowl of noodles, Atem polished off the last of his meal, then followed Yugi up to one of the inn rooms to rest.