Chapter Thirty-Five: Breaking Up

"How's Mickey?"
"He's OK, he's gone".
"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait."
"No need. He deserves better."

-The Doctor and Rose Tyler

"YUGI!" He heard his name shouted just before he entered the TARDIS, having enough time to shut the door before something ran into his back, pulling him into a hug. Almost afraid of who had grabbed onto him, Yugi turned his head only to see Miho hanging onto him. He belatedly realized that Joey had told him that she had moved here after his disappearance, all other thoughts leaving as she squeezed him. "Oh, Yugi, I thought you were dead. I thought that that man had killed you!"

"Nope." He coughed out the word, Miho releasing him the next minute, spinning him around before hugging him close again. "Miho, really, I'm alright. I need to breathe!"

"But I'm afraid that you'll disappear again." She looked up at him and smiled, Yugi trying to get free. He didn't know if the Pharaoh was ready to leave and the Time Lord would be mad if he wasn't there. But something told him that the Pharaoh wouldn't leave without him. Still, there was no reason to tempt fate. Yugi wiggled, trying to get out of Miho's hold, freezing when she leaned over to kiss him. "Let's go."

"What?"

She backed away, managing to have captured one of his hands without him knowing. Miho smiled and gave him a gentle tug. "Let's go somewhere. Spend the day together. It's been over a year since we've done anything."

"But-"

"Please, Yugi." He stared at her before looking back at the TARDIS, suddenly aware of the key that hung around his neck. As much as he wanted to go back to the TARDIS, there were things that he and Miho had to talk about, things that he needed to straighten out with her. The Pharaoh could come and find him if he needed to. Hopefully the Time Lord wouldn't leave without him.

"Alright."

She smiled at him, beginning to bound ahead, Yugi allowing himself to be pulled along. "We'll head down to the beach and spend some time at the shops down there. And we could head back to my apartment." Yugi paled at the statement, struggling to smile at her as Miho looked back as him. He shivered as her fingers brushed over his palm. "I really have missed you."

"Uh…" It was the only sound that he could get out. He really needed to tell her that whatever they had once had was over, but the words just wouldn't come out. Yugi shot a look over his shoulder, hoping that the Pharaoh would come to his rescue, but he had no such luck. He sighed and allowed himself to be dragged toward the beach, not stepping up to walk beside Miho.

Almost as a second thought, he dug out his phone, quickly sending a text to his mother to let her know that he was alright before shoving it back in his pocket, realizing that he had attracted Miho's attention. "What?"

"Were you texting that alien you ran off with?"

"No." Yugi tipped his head to the side. "Just telling my mother that I'm fine."

"Oh." Miho flipped her hair, which was bound back in a ponytail, over her shoulder. "Why did you go with him in the first place?"

"Because I wanted to see what was out there."

"He didn't kidnap you?"

"What? No!" Yugi blushed as people looked at him because of his outburst. "I told you that I wanted to see what was out there."

"But you were gone for a year."

Yugi shook his head, keeping his mouth shut as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. He sighed and led her over to a bench, wanting to forestall their trip to the beach and what would eventually come after it as long as possible. In fact, he wanted to ignore that possibility for as long as possible.

He gently sat her down with a smile before getting up and pacing behind her, unable to keep still. "It was a mistake. I…I really enjoy traveling with him."

"But, I never get to see you anymore." Miho turned around to look at him. "And I really do miss you. Other guys are asking me out all the time, but I remain faithful to you. Do you know how hard that is?"

"Miho, I-"

"I don't want to ask you to chose, but I need this." She began to cry, Yugi slumping before going to lean on the bench, trying to steel himself against her tears. He wasn't going to break, not this time. "I need to know where you are because…because I want to get married."

"What?"

"I want to get married and have a good life." She looked up at him with a smile. "And you're really the only nice guy that I've found."

"But-"

"No others." She wiped the tears away from her eyes before gently pulling Yugi around the bench and encouraging him to sit beside her, immediately cuddling up to his side. Yugi could only sit in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened, staring off into the distance.

He could feel the urge to run returning, the urge to get out of the situation as fast as possible. He was only nineteen; he didn't want to settle down yet. He didn't want to start a family. He didn't want to give up his new life.

Yugi twitched, almost ready to run as Miho wrapped an arm around his waist, swallowing harshly. "Miho?"

"Yes."

"I-I have something to tell you." Miho gave a hum to show that she was listening. Yugi looked down at her and gave a long sigh, trying to gather together his courage. He had faced down Slitheen and Daleks without flinching, but he couldn't do this. But, if he didn't he could wave good-bye to his life among the stars. And he wasn't quite ready for that.

"Yes?"

"I think that we should stop seeing each other." Yugi flinched as Miho tensed, the young woman looking up at him with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Obviously this isn't going to work out between the two of us with me traveling all the time and I don't want to hold you back. So…" Yugi wanted to groan and hit his head against something. He was horrible at this. But it was better to get it done now than to continue to string Miho along. He swallowed before looking at her, forcing himself not to react as tears formed in her eyes.

"You're breaking up with me?"

"Yes. But not because of anything that you've done. I just think that it would be better this-Did you hear that?" Yugi stood up, glancing up at the sky as he heard a sound like thunder. He frowned at the clear skies, slowly turning his place as he scanned for something that would produce that sound.

He glanced down at Miho as she gave a sob, blinking in confusion when he realized that she was still reacting to his news. Yugi shifted nervously before glancing up at the sky one more time. There weren't any clouds that he could see, but that didn't mean anything. He had learned from his travels to listen to his instincts, and his instincts were telling him that something was wrong.

"Yugi!" He focused on Miho again, trying hard not to just break and run. Something was obviously wrong here, he could feel it. He couldn't just look at his former girlfriend, his eyes darting around to fix on the buildings around him, searching for the source of the noise. "Is this alien more important to your than me?"

"I just…can't settle down yet."

"What about later then?" Yugi didn't have an answer to that question, his gaze dropping to the ground to stare at his shoes. He wasn't thinking that far ahead with his life. As of now, he was just unemployed, living off of what the Pharaoh offered, but it was enough for him. For the first time in his life, he was free. Free from what society told him to act like, told him how to be like.

He wasn't going to become a mass murderer or just end up going nowhere just because he lived in the slums of Domino City. He knew things and he could work. Slowly, he was gaining the confidence that he never had and he enjoyed the feeling. He didn't want to go back to what he had been before, content with being shuffled around his entire life. Yugi wanted to stand and try and make his life better, push against the normal flow. He wanted to just be Yugi Mutou without any second thoughts or other people defining him.

"I have time for that."

"No you don't." Yugi made to walk away, finally unable to remain there any longer. He had done what he needed to do, thrown off the last tie to his old life, the last person who would tell him what to be, no matter how nice she was. "I swear, if you walk away from me now, Yugi Mutou, this is over."

He turned to look back at her, his gaze settling on Miho's face for a moment before moving to the poster on one of the buildings close by, his eyes widening at the graffiti scrawled over it. Dark Game.

It was time to move on.

Yugi sighed and turned away, walking back towards the TARDIS while trying to ignore Miho. It was all for the best, he reminded himself, even as he hated hurting one of his friend's feelings. He pulled a hand out of his pocket to run through his hair, stumbling to the side as the ground shook beneath his feet. Yugi swayed, catching himself on the nearest building before looking up at it, frowning.

There would have been some kind of warning if an earthquake was coming, or so he hoped. Yugi pushed away from the building with a confused look, the ground trembling again. Still, the safest place would be the TARDIS, and the Pharaoh would be able to figure out what was going on.

Yugi turned to call Miho over, intending to get her to safety as well, only to realize that she had already left. He frowned and was about to move towards the bench they had been sitting at when the ground rocked again, Yugi stumbling backwards before reluctantly turning and running for the TARDIS, stumbling as the ground continued to rock under his feet.

The Pharaoh quickly switched the view screen so it displayed the image of the extrapolator, staring fixedly at it. He didn't want to think about what he had just seen. He didn't want to think about Yugi getting kissed by Miho and walking off with her. Some part of him urged that he should just leave, let Yugi stay behind with the girl that he had obviously chosen, but he forced himself to be rational. Besides, the extrapolator could blow up while they were in the time vortex, and he didn't want to risk that.

"How does it look?" The Pharaoh started a bit as Duke spoke; the Time Agent standing up from his place by the extrapolator and walking around to the screen, scanning it. The Time Agent frowned and rocked back on his heels. "Nothing."

"So far." He looked over at the Slitheen that was sitting where he had directed her to, the woman looking up without bothering to play innocent.

"What, you expect me to try and escape?"

"Yes. You escaped before, leaving your family to die."

"The teleport only carried one." She snapped the words out, looking between Duke and the Pharaoh, probably searching for sympathy, but she would get none. The Slitheen gave a growl and looked down at the floor. "Besides, I have heard the legends, you would have to be deaf not to. Nothing and no one escapes from the Pharaoh. The whisper at the far edge of the galaxy that not even the Time Lords could escape from him."

"What?"

The Slitheen smiled, the Pharaoh belatedly realizing that he had allowed himself to walk into a trap. "You accuse me of killing my family, Pharaoh, but what about you? You who is rumored to have killed your own planet? What happened to Gallifrey, Pharaoh, where did it go?"

"There was a war." He turned around, leaving her to think over that. The entire universe was rocked by the Time War, he knew that. Two great species clashing in an attempt to control time itself, and no one had survived. The lesser species, the ones who had escaped without their planets being torn apart, only heard rumors, only had ripples of strange events from the moment when time mourned the loss of its children. But nothing more. And he was not going to be the one to supply the rest of the story.

Gallifrey and her Time Lords were gone. It was best if they remained buried.

"And that explains it." The Slitheen turned to stare at one of the walls again. "Only one who has seen death so many times could condemn me to this fate."

"It's not my problem."

"You say that now!" She stood up, obviously desperate. The Pharaoh glanced over at her, meeting her gaze and staring her down. It was her move now, would she back down or continue to appeal to his mercy, something that was in low supply right now. The Slitheen hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "They'll throw me in acetic acid to be dissolved, still alive and still screaming. Can you really return me home knowing that? Your friend there can't. He can't even look me in the eye."

The Pharaoh glanced over at Duke, noticing that the Time Agent had gone back to messing with the extrapolator, obviously using the gadget as an excuse not to look up at the Slitheen. The Time Lord shook his head and looked directly at the Slitheen without hesitation. He had done much worse than that and, while he wasn't proud of it, it hadn't killed him so he was stronger for it.

The Slitheen took a step back. "So you would condemn me. But I've changed? The murder rates have gone down here and there's been no crime. I've done nothing to these people!"

"A single instance is not enough." The Pharaoh glared back at the screen, looking for something that he knew had to be there. It had been too simple to subdue the Slitheen.

"Then you leave me no choice." He started at the hard tone of voice that the Slitheen used, taking a step backwards unconsciously. The woman smiled at him, pulling something from her pocket and waving it in the air. "There is nothing to be found on the extrapolator, yet. I should congratulate you on being such a good opponent, but you didn't see this coming. Activate program Yami no Game!"

The TARDIS gave a shudder, the Pharaoh reaching out to grab onto the console as the time machine rocked, jerking his head up to stare at the view screen, eyes widening at what he saw there. The Time Lord cursed, pulling himself upright as the TARDIS shuddered again. "Unhook it, Duke!"

There was a flurry of curses as Duke did was he was ordered, the Time Agent staring at the flashing extrapolator before shaking his head. "No good! What's it doing?"

"It's using the TARDIS." The Pharaoh was flung sideways, scrambling for a hold on the console to keep upright. He didn't want to fall to the floor with the Slitheen obviously enjoying their plight. He would become an easy target then.

"It's programmed to sync up to any piece of technology advanced enough and create an artificial Rift." The Pharaoh glanced over at the Slitheen, watching as she tipped her head to the side. "Don't look at me that way, I knew about the Rift. We all did, and it's my way home. The Earth gets pulled apart by the two opposing rifts in time and space and I use the extrapolator to escape, free from everything else."

The doors burst open in that moment, Yugi stumbling up the ramp. "Pharaoh, what's going on? The city is falling apart out there!"

"Yugi!" His shout of warning was too late, the Slitheen moving much more quickly than expected. The Pharaoh lunged forward to stop her, reacting too slowly. The arm of the human skin that the Slitheen was wearing was thrown to the side, the large green, three-clawed arm of the true form of the Slitheen around Yugi's neck. The young man gave a wheeze of surprise, clawing at the fingers around his neck.

"Now the situation has changed." The Slitheen gave them a smile, briefly tightening her hold on Yugi. "Now, put the extrapolator at my feet. Your precious TARDIS only has a limited time until the new rift tears it apart."

The Pharaoh gritted his teeth, looking between Yugi and the TARDIS. He paused at the soft hum that the TARDIS gave, confused by the sound. His ship shouldn't be so calm if it was close to being torn apart. But, then again, if it was…The Pharaoh's eyes widened, the Time Lord resting a hand on the TARDIS briefly before nodding at Duke. The Time Agent gave him a long stare before setting the extrapolator down in front of the Slitheen, sliding out of the way.

The Slitheen smiled, stepping onto the extrapolator. "Since you were going to show you me no mercy, I shall give you none. You can die knowing that you were the cause of his death!"

She went to squeeze Yugi's windpipe, the Pharaoh watching Duke lunge forward as he closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt warmth on his arm, opening his eyes to see a bright gold light coming from a lifted panel on the console. The Pharaoh glanced as where Duke was lying on the floor, an arm flung over his eyes before stepping forward. "Yugi, don't look."

His companion gave a short nod, turning his face away even as the Slitheen turned to look at the light. It glanced up at the Pharaoh briefly before her attention was refocused back, speaking in a dreamy voice. "What is that?"

"It's the heart of the TARDIS." The Pharaoh crossed his arms, making sure to keep from looking directly at the light. "When you attempted to rip her open, you exposed it. I would think that she would be inclined to be merciful, but you did threaten one of her favorite humans."

There was a low rumble from the TARDIS, the Slitheen trembling as she stared into the light. Her mouth fell open in shock, the Pharaoh almost tempted to look into the light to see what she had seen, but he wouldn't have seen anything. Apparently, it was powerful enough for her to drop Yugi to the ground, the young man grunting as he hit the grating in the floor. The Pharaoh started to move to get to Yugi, but stopped at the words that the Slitheen whispered.

"What are you? What will you become?"

Then she was consumed by light, the Pharaoh having to cover his eyes against the brilliance. Thankfully, the flare didn't last long, the light fading. He heard a dull thump as something hit the ground, lunging for the console and opening his eyes by a fraction as he worked the levers to close the panel, the TARDIS shutting down a moment later.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before looking at his ship. In his mind, the TARDIS gave a soft hum, the sound coming moments before the lights went back on, the view screen flickering to life. Thankfully, the extrapolator was no longer connected to her, the aftershocks of the earthquake disappearing as time and space settled back into place, completely sealing shut.

The Pharaoh frowned as he petted a part of the console. It was almost unnatural how quickly that rift in time and space had healed, but he easily shrugged it off. The Slitheen had just chosen a bad place to create a rift. He glanced down at Duke pulled himself off the ground, the Time Agent giving him a shaky smile before looking over at Yugi, the Pharaoh following his gaze.

Yugi pulled himself from the grating, rubbing his neck and trembling a little. "What happened to her?"

The Pharaoh shrugged. "The TARDIS might have vaporized her, sent her to a different part of time and space or-"

"She's an egg." The Pharaoh stared at Yugi as the young man pulled a large green egg out of the skin suit, holding the thing in his hands with a look of confusion. "The TARDIS turned her into an egg."

"Well," the Pharaoh crossed his arms over his chest, "she's more forgiving than I am."

Yugi stood up carefully, cradling the egg awkwardly. "So, what's next?"

"We take her home." The Pharaoh turned around, walking around the TARDIS and getting her ready to travel again, taking the egg from Yugi and placing it on the console. "The TARDIS thought that she deserved a second chance."

He stayed at the console, waiting until the others had gotten into their normal positions, his hand hesitating over the one lever that would send the TARDIS back into the time vortex. The Pharaoh mentally cursed the girl that Yugi was dating, the mere thought of her stalling his hand. He felt himself tense up, about to turn and ask Yugi if he wanted to go back out and speak to her when the young man answered for him.

Yugi reached over easily and pulled the lever down, smirking and dodging away as the TARDIS rocked into motion. The Pharaoh watched him, automatically adjusting to the rock of the TARDIS. Yugi moved around the console, probably thinking that the Time Lord would come after him for doing that, but the Pharaoh was too focused on what the act showed. Yugi was apparently more than happy to leave Miho behind.

Despite himself, the Pharaoh smiled slightly before beginning to move around the console to pilot the TARDIS, watching as Yugi continued to dodge him, the young man still smiling brightly.

Miho watched as the blue box disappeared, standing by and letting it take her boyfriend away from her again. She sniffed and gently wiped her eyes, not wanting to smear her mascara. A real lady didn't show any outward sign that her world was falling apart, she stayed composed the entire time. And that's what Miho would force herself to do. No matter how many times Yugi disappeared out of her life, she just knew that he was the right one for her. There had been other guys, ones that had just liked her because she was cute, but Yugi was perfect for her.

And he would see that eventually. All she had to do was be patient.

She sighed, shaking her head. Patience was her weak point and, right now, she wasn't in the mood for entertaining such thoughts.

Yugi had just chosen to continue traveling with that alien over her, and that hurt. She sniffed, wrapping her arms around herself and rocking in place, trying to get the courage to move. Miho didn't want to walk away, some part of her wanting to hang onto this moment. As soon as she walked away, she would no longer be Yugi's girlfriend, no longer the future Mrs. Mutou. She would just be Miho Nosaka, a young woman working her way through this world on her own. And she didn't want that, she wanted to be taken care of.

"Miss?" She turned around, startled by the question, pressing a hand over her heart as a young man jogged up, her eyes widening as she looked at him.

He had messy platinum blonde hair, long strands falling over his lavender eyes. The young man smiled at her, his perfect white teeth sticking out against his tan, Miho feeling her heart beat faster as he walked up to her. He gently rested a hand on her shoulder, giving a soft laugh. "Sorry for startling you. Are you alright?"

Miho could only nod, wondering why she seemed unable to speak. But this young man was simply enchanting.

He didn't seem bothered by her lack of speech, looking in the direction of where the blue box had been before, tilting his head in confusion before looking back at her. His eyes widened as he stared at her for a moment before taking a firmer hold on her shoulder. "You've been crying."

"Yes." Miho finally found her voice, nodding again and finding that she was staring back at where Yugi had disappeared.

"Do you have a place to go? It's dangerous since some of the buildings collapsed, especially those close to the center."

"No. My boyfriend…he just left me and…" Miho was surprised as the young man took her hand gently holding it in his own before beginning to walk away.

"Well, I can't leave you out here all on your own. You can come and stay with me until we're sure that your apartments are safe." Miho resisted the initial tug on her hand, relenting a moment later when the young man gave her hand another gentle tug. "Don't worry; I won't kill you or anything like that."

"Thank you. It's been," Miho sighed, "a really rough day."

"Oh, I've had a few of them, some more recently." He gave her another dazzling smile before seeming to remember something, blinking quickly before ducking his head with a blush. "Oh, sorry, I haven't asked for your name."

"I'm Miho Nosaka."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miho. I'm Namu Ishtar." He turned back around, leading her deeper into the city. Miho felt a smile cross her face, her heart beginning to beat faster as Namu refused to let go of her hand as they continued to walk. She let herself dissolve into daydreams, missing the smile that Namu sent her way, the expression completely different than the other smiles that he had sent her way. This one was almost psychotic.

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