Say hello to Chapter 14! Now things are really heating up!!

Yay... new reviewers!! To Serzie, Mystik Genie, tavia454, and YGO-girl-teen: thank you for your kind reviews! I'm glad you like it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!!

Kyo lover with little sanity: In Pursuit of Love is definitely my next project. I haven't forgotten!! LOL But it'll only take me a week or so at most to write it, so I wanted to know what people would like to see after that. I'm thinking this story will have about four more chapters or so, and then I'll have your winning fic up and ready. :P

Cactus Bob: As always, thank you for your input. Those who've voted have all been leaning towards the untitled one, so I'm thinking that'll be next (after the contest fic of course). I'll warn you now though, that that one will be a really long story. I'm thinking upwards of thirty chapters or so. But it'll be worth it. I hope. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!, the borrowed story from xxxHolic, or any of the quotes I referenced.

"I won't die. I still have something to see through. I can't die yet." – Syaoran, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Volume Two

Death's Call

"And now I activate Swords of Revealing Light. That's all for now." Atemu did his best to remain calm as he waited for Yuugi's coughing fit to recede. They were trying to have a friendly duel to pass the time, but his aibou's ever worsening condition had prolonged the game quite longer than they intended. In spite of that, the younger champion refused to back down.

When Yuugi smirked, Yami knew he was in trouble. "Nice move. Or at least, it would have been if I hadn't played this." He flipped up one of his face down cards. "Magic Barrier. I used it with my Silent Swordsman, now level 5, which means he's immune to your swords' effects. And without any monsters on the field to protect you, I get a clear shot."

A low growl escaped Atemu's lips. Yes, he'd lost before, but that didn't necessarily mean he liked it very much. That attack cut his life points down to a pathetic sliver of 100.

"And with that, I end my turn." He choked a bit as he spoke and covered his face to cough again.

Concern easily outweighed the pharaoh's predatory gaming instinct. His crimson orbs softened. "Yuugi, we can finish this game later. I think you should go upstairs and lie down for a while."

The hikari grinned again. "You're only saying that because you're losing," he whispered between coughs. He paused and managed a quick drink of water to re-hydrate his raw throat.

Atemu shook his head. "No." He rolled his eyes at the look his partner gave him and confessed. "Okay, yes. But I care more about you than a silly game."

Yuugi shrugged. "We're almost done. I'll beat you when your spell card wears off anyway, so let's just finish." The playful glint in his eyes dared his other to continue.

But for once, he would not be swayed. He set down his cards and laid a hand over his deck. "In that case, I'll just forfeit now."

Yuugi looked scandalized. "Hey! That's not fair!"

Atemu chuckled as he pouted, but didn't relent. He gathered his cards and reshuffled them into his deck. "Game's over. We'll settle this when you're well again."

The young champion sighed, but began gathering his own cards. "Fine. But I can't sleep now. I'm too wide awake. I'll take a nap after I visit Hikaru-san."

His dark glared at the floor, clearly unhappy. Though Yuugi had been getting even worse over the past few days and now stayed home from school, he still trekked out to the park to visit his friend. Every day, they had a small argument over the matter, but nothing Atemu could say would stop him from going. His only consolation was that he was never gone long, a half an hour at most. Apparently, Hikaru was just as upset as him about it, and would send the little one home fairly quickly. For that, he was grateful. It meant she had some sense and really did care for his aibou's well being. Still, he did everything he could to try and get him to rest.

"Yuugi, I'll only let you go if you drink all of that tea I'm making." He smirked at the grimace on his face. When all the other medicines they gave him did little or nothing to help, Grandpa suggested they try this herbal tea he'd invented. It seemed to do the trick for a little while, but had a horrible taste. Atemu practically had to force-feed Yuugi through a tube to get him to drink it.

Yuugi gagged a bit at the thought of swallowing that nasty stuff, but decided it was a good idea not to argue. "Fine."

Atemu smiled appreciatively, then looked in the direction of the kitchen in response to high pitched whistle. "Hot water's done. I'll be right back."

It didn't take him long to mix up Sugoroku's herbal remedy. Even he had to flinch at the terrible smell of it, but luckily he wasn't the one who had to drink it. An almost evil smirk touched his lips as he stirred the steaming liquid. So maybe he did feel a little sorry that Yuugi had to drink the awful stuff, but the faces he made were just so adorable that he got over the guilt pretty quick.

Careful not to spill the tea, he returned to the living room, sat next to his aibou on the couch, and set his medicine on the table. "Here we are. It's a little hot yet, so be careful. Although it might be easier to just gulp it all at once. It might not taste as bad that way." His smile faded at the thoughtful look on Yuugi's face.

He was holding a manga book that Anzu had brought him yesterday. Their friends stopped by on and off to bring his homework and check in on his condition. And although he didn't really like the girl's massive collection of shojo manga, she brought some anyway. So when he didn't have anything else to do, he actually picked up a few and skimmed through them. But he looked like he was actually reading it this time. And for some reason, it made him sad.

"Something wrong, Aibou?"

Yuugi blinked to wake himself and glanced over at his dark. "Huh? Nah, nothing's wrong," he said with a smile. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Atemu asked.

He shrugged. "Just random stuff. Nothing important."

Atemu smirked and inched a little closer to his love. "Like what?"

Whatever he'd been thinking about must have distracted him quite a bit, because for once, he didn't blush at Yami's bold actions. He picked up the book he'd set on his lap and turned to the page he was reading before his other came in. "I was just thinking about this one part in this manga... 'The world seemed like some role playing game come to life. But things weren't simply "good" or "evil" like in an RPG. We followed our hearts... and that brought tragedy. I can't play RPG's or video games anymore. It feels too real, like the enemy in the game is my actual enemy. And even though I'm the hero, the bad guy sees me as a villain.'" (1) He stopped and set the book down again. "I guess, it just got me thinking about all the people we fought on our journey together."

He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "Ya know, so many of our enemies didn't have to be. They were just doing what they thought was right. And to them, we were the enemy. Like Pegasus. Okay, yeah, he was pretty crazy, but he was just so broken up over his girlfriend's death. And Raphael had a hard life and Dartz exploited it for his own gain. And then there was the Thief King Bakura."

Atemu growled at the name.

Yuugi giggled, but went on. "Alright. He was completely insane, and destroyed a lot of innocent lives. But he watched his home town get slaughtered and burned to the ground, and as far as he knew, you were responsible." He stopped and coughed a moment. "I guess... I was just thinking how nothing's ever as easy and straight forward as it seems. No matter how much we wish it was." He closed his eyes and smiled wistfully. "I wish... we never had to fight."

Atemu stared at Yuugi for a moment. Then he reached over and pulled him close, nuzzling his neck. "Aibou, you are so amazing."

This time, he did blush that bright tomato red. His mind started melting at his yami's warmth. Nonetheless, he snuggled deeper in his embrace and grinned. Too bad his coughing managed to ruin the moment.

Atemu pulled away and picked up the tea. He handed it to Yuugi with a chiding wink and grin.

His glared at his other self ruefully, but accepted the cup and gulped it down anyway. "Ack. I hate this stuff."

The former pharaoh chuckled. "I know; I know." He said no more, quite content to just sit here and cuddle his loveable light.

Fate had no love for the two soul partners though. Atemu groaned as the phone rang incessantly. He reluctantly released him and headed back into the kitchen to answer it.

Yuugi pulled a blanket over his shoulders and hugged himself happily. 'Pretty soon,' he told himself. He'd finally decided that he was going to tell Atemu just how he felt about him. But he wanted to wait until after he got over this nasty illness. There were certain things he'd like to be able to do if his beloved other self felt the same, and his frequent coughing fits and dizzy spells would make it more than a little difficult. So for now he was content to just enjoy the affection lavished on him and get better.

"Yuugi? Ryou's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

He perked up immediately. He hadn't heard from the white haired hikari in a long time, and he really missed him. With an unnatural burst of energy for someone in his condition, he jumped off the couch and bounded in the kitchen. He was taken aback at the look on Atemu's face as he held out the phone to him. He looked extremely angry about something, his free hand clenched in a fist. He could almost see long suppressed shadow energy cackling in his aura.

Yuugi raised a confused eyebrow at him, but made no comment at the moment. He simply took the phone and leaned against the wall. "Hi Ryou!"

"Long time, no see, Yuugi!"

He laughed. "Yeah. I feel like it's been forever since you left. When are you coming home?"

"In a few days, as a matter of fact. We're leaving California tomorrow morning. But our flight has a couple of stops and layovers on the way. And the time difference will really throw us off."

"Yeah, I suppose so." He threw a glare over his shoulder at Yami, who was muttering profanities under his breath. Just what was he so upset about? "But it'll be great to finally see you again. We'll have to throw a welcome home party. And you'll have to show us all your pictures."

He could almost hear the shy blush in his tone when he spoke again. "Nah. You really don't have to go through that kind of trouble for me."

"But we want to. We've all missed you."

"Yeah. Me too. But you... I told you to be careful, but of course this is the way it turned out."

Yuugi frowned in uncertainty at the sudden change in tone and direction of the dialogue. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Ryou sighed. "You're not feeling well, are you? You haven't for a while now."

The young duelist felt his mouth fell open a bit in shock. How could he know that? They hadn't mentioned it at all in their previous conversations. "How did you..." He was stopped short and covered his mouth with his free hand as he began coughing again, but this time the attack was much more violent than all the others. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Atemu's previous rage die down to extreme anxiety.

Out of nowhere, it seemed, he was unexpectedly aware of a familiar metallic taste coating his mouth, and his hand became damp when he coughed into it.

He stopped, panting heavily. His amethyst eyes widened in alarm when he saw a small puddle of blood dripping through his fingers and felt it trailing the corners of his lips.

"It's because you're meeting that woman," he heard through the lowered receiver. "She's not what she appears to be. If you keep seeing her..."

Yuugi didn't hear him. He swayed, still staring at his hand. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, as his eyes trailed up and met Atemu's. He dropped the phone, eyes glazing over and fell backwards.

"Yuugi!" Yami rushed over and caught him. The phone dangled from the cord, Ryou's voice still echoing from the receiver.

"Yuugi?! Yuugi!!"

(A.N. I almost decided to end this chapter there, but I think I'll give ya a little more love today. Be sure to thank me with lots of reviews!!)

Yuugi opened his eyes slowly, allowing his vision to adjust to the light.

"Where... what happened?" A rustling sound from beside him drew his attention to the pharaoh sitting in the chair by his bedside.

"You passed out. I carried you up to your room."

Yuugi tried to sit up, but Atemu pushed his shoulders firmly to keep him where he was. He didn't push his luck.

"What did Ryou tell you?" he asked nervously. If Atemu knew, then there was no way he'd allow him to go see Hikaru-san. And judging from the look on his face earlier, he probably did.

The furious ex-king frowned and clenched his fists tightly one more. "He said that if you continued to see that woman, you'd be lost forever." He gulped nervously. "I assume he means that you'll be dead."

This time, Yuugi did sit up, waving away Atemu's hands to do so. "That can't be right. She never did anything to me. I never got a bad feeling, or anything."

Yami understood that he was greatly attached to the woman and might not be willing to accept the truth. He'd have to let logic prevail. "Is there anything else going on? You haven't come across anything else strange, have you?"

He thought a moment and shook his head.

His darker self imitated the gesture sympathetically. "Then it seems that Ryou is correct. And it makes sense. You started looking odd just after you met her. And the more you saw of her, the more you got sick. She must be involved."

Yuugi wanted to scream that it was impossible, argue in Hikaru's defense as much as he could, but his sore throat and weakened body wouldn't allow it. Still, her smiling face and tender eyes flashed in his mind. He replayed all their conversations, all the time they shared enjoying one another's company. Her compassion, kindness, and warmth refused acceptance. "But... she isn't a bad person. I know it."

Atemu's eyes narrowed in anger. "We don't even know if she is a person. Whatever she did to you clearly isn't normal. There must be magic or something at work here." He growled at his own stupidity. "I just didn't see or sense it."

Yuugi laid back down and stared at the ceiling. "Even if that's true... I promised her... that I'd meet her in the park. I promised."

Atemu said nothing.

His gentle hikari closed his eyes, immediately falling asleep once again.

Crisp autumn leaves rustled in a light breeze. Hues of red, orange, and yellow blended together and were set loose from their restraints, falling softly all about the lone figure sitting on a park bench.

She stared at the ground, watching the evening shadows close in everywhere as she pulled the folds of her old kimono tighter around her.

She looked to the left, then to the right, seemingly searching for something. There was nothing coming in either direction. Her head hung low and she closed her eyes sadly.

The image rippled and faded, like a reflection on the water's surface. It drained, flowing downward and thinning into a single strand of a silver tear...

Yuugi woke once more, a tiny river trailing from his eye. He glanced beside him and saw that Atemu was not there. He could faintly hear noises and voices coming from downstairs, which meant both he and their grandfather were at home. They were probably discussing his illness, its tie to Hikaru, and what to do about it.

Tears continued to pour forth, his heart wrenching in pain. "She told me she was lonely," he whispered aloud to no one.

He pushed himself up, gripping his head lightly to calm the pounding headache and dizziness.

"I can't... don't want to make her any more lonely than she is."

He threw aside the blankets trapping him and stood slowly, swaying a bit. He looked thoughtfully out his skylight window. There was no way Atemu would let him go see her now, so if he tried to leave through the front door, he'd likely be restrained by his considerably stronger darker half.

"I have to go," he resolved.

His sneakers were downstairs, along with his jacket, and he couldn't likely retrieve them without the others noticing. But he was determined that nothing stop him.

Yuugi reached under his bed and found a pair of sandals, normally reserved for the summer, and settled for a long sleeved button-up to wear over his t-shirt to keep him warm.

Being careful not to make any noise, he stood on his desk and unlocked the window, pushing it aside just enough to crawl out. Once he was out on the roof, he looked down apprehensively. He'd never had an occasion to sneak out before, so he'd never tried to jump down. But really, it wasn't all that high, and there were bushes below. He took a single deep breath, trying not to cough it out in the process, and leapt.

Yep. That's it. That's the real ending for this edition. What'd ya think?

That quote was taken from Magic Knight Rayearth 2, also by CLAMP.

Please review!!

StandAlone