The next morning came too soon for Yugi. He woke up way before the sun. It was still very dark outside. After his discussion with Yami, he hardly got any sleep being too excited about meeting him.

Yugi gently took the puzzle from his nightstand. He placed the small, shiny item in the palm of his hand and attentively observed it.

His index finger delicately traced the finely assembled pieces as if it was someone's face. He felt the reassuring warmth that escaped from it on his fingertip. It was just a sign proving that Yami was inside.

He slipped the chain around his neck slowly, as if trying not to wake his companion up.

"Hello Yugi!"

Yami spoke before he even said a single word.

"Ah, I see you're already awake too."

"I spent most of the night up, thinking."

So did I... Yugi grinned.

"About what?"

He asked so innocently, that it seemed like he didn't remember any of the stuff Yami told him the previous night.

"What I explained, yesterday."

"You need to tell me the rest as well, right?"

"Yes but why are you in such a hurry now? It can wait a bit! You're not even out of your bed yet and it's too early!"

Yugi chuckled and agreed.

"Hmm... hehe... okay you're right for the first part. I better get up but I don't care what time it is!"

Yugi turned on the light and walked to his closet and opened it. He had a nice selection of clothes, from elegant to casual. He stripped off his cotton pajama and threw it away.

He moved a hand through his hair as he looked at his clothes. It was the first time he actually stopped to think that he had a lot... Perhaps way too much...

Yugi shrugged and grabbed his favourite pair of pants. They were made out of leather. On the bottom right leg was an embroided silver dragon with its head up, breathing fire. The flame design was red at the top, blue at the bottom and violet where the two other colors met. It went up to the middle of the thigh.

He pulled them on and gazed at his reflection in the mirror; his pants fit like a second skin. They were perfectly adjusted to his body.

He took a belt and buckled it as tight as it would go around his waist. It was about two inches large with little metal spikes standing on its leathery surface.

A normal black t-shirt soon covered his bare chest. He put his shoes on, turned the light off and ran out of the house.

Yugi stood outside and locked the door. He, then, looked up at the partly clouded starry sky silently.

After a few moments, he began walking in his backyard. A warm early morning breeze caressed skin and played with his hair. The golden-haired one started running in the large open field, stretching his arms out like a bird would before leaving the ground.

Yugi enjoyed the freedom feeling he suddenly experimented. A sincere smile formed on his face which had not occured in quite a while.

If other people could have seen him at that moment, they would have had no problem imagining that he is a worryless child despite his age and height.

He ran by the small river in which he played as a kid and stared at the small waterfall nearby for a bit. Memories hidden deep within his heart flooded back to him. Ever since his grandfather's death, Yugi kept all the nice moments he had lived with him locked far away. It was almost as if all of them died with Sugoroku. They could finally come freely in the man's mind once more.

A few cold drops of water carried by the wind landed on his face as he crossed the river on big rocks. The cold contrasting with the warm air sent shivers down his spine.

Yugi deeply breathed wild flowers' sweet fragrance. He felt good inside, better than he had in a long time. It was almost as if nothing could bother him anymore and never had...

Aw, I wish Yami could be here to experiment this with me!

Yami? ...Yami...

This immediately brought him back to the cold and harsh reality and washed the soothing memories out of his mind, shattering them to pieces.

He still couldn't have Yami with him nor anyone to share this with. He hardly ever seen his friends anymore... What's the reason for living when you're almost fully alone? He wondered this and the thought made him slightly depressed.

"Yami... I'm sorry I got carried away by all of this."

"It's okay. You seemed to have so much fun I didn't want to bother you. Don't be sad dear, life will be better than it had for you, I'm sure. Now, sorry to rush this a little, but do you ever want to meet me or no?"

Renewed hope burned in Yugi's round eyes and lit his face with happiness once more...

"Of course!"

He walked to an open spot and lied down on his back in the tall grass, staring at the twinkling stars in the dark sky as he patiently waited for Yami to begin.

"As I told you before, we once had a portal leading to the Shadow Realm. If Kaiba Corp. created virtual reality duel monsters, I think their technology could be up to it. If not, then I fear there is no other way because the ritual we used was destroyed and I only remember parts of it."

Yugi desperately hoped he would find a way for it otherwise he would proably die with his dreams this time... Noticing the dark thoughts his friend had, Yami remembered something else:

"Well, if it doesn't work there could still be the wiccan way that the witch I knew used but it is complex and could take years..."

"Then I'll work on it with Seto until we find a way!"

"I'm convinced you guys can do it!"

They talked until the sun rose high above them.

* * *

During the afternoon, Yugi went to Kaiba Corp. to begin his researches on how he could ever open that kind of portal. He was obsessed with it and wouldn't stop until he succeeded, even though it was on his vacation time. After one full afternoon and night of work, nothing that he tried so far worked but he wouldn't give up. Even if it was late, he wouldn't allow himself to slip in the grasps of sleep. He eventually stop struggling and fell asleep at his computer desk. Yugi was plunged him into another dream, different from the others this time...

The dream began the same way as before. He was in the desert.. the woman came and grabbed him... guards arrived... He was forced in a palace... in a hallway... but this time he saw what was in the room.

There were countless huge torches blazing. The guards chained his hand and feet to rhw wall in the back of the room. The woman stood in front of him and began speaking in an old language.

Out of the whole speech, the only word he understood was "Yami". After she was done, she clapped her hands and the guards picked up the torches and threw them at his feet. Everybody walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. The man struggled to get away from the flames which started to lick his feet and legs. He couldn't do anything. Long moment passed in which he experimented great pain that Yugi could feel even though it was just a dream...

The door swung open and another woman, much younger this time, broke the chains with a strong hits of an oversized morning star and smiled at him. She caught him in her arms and began dragging him out of the place in the best way she could.

That was the last thing Yugi saw in the dream, as if he had fainted or something. He woke up in sweat, anxious.

"Yami!" He desperately cried out, looking for support.

"Hm, yes? Already morning?"

Yugi looked out of his office window; it was, indeed, morning.

"Yes but the dream! I know what happens after!"

He told Yami about it who listened, astonished.

"That's it Yami. Does it make any more sense now? Why was it your name I heard?"

Only silence answered his questions.

"Yami?"

Still nothing.

"Hey??? Are you okay? Stop worrying me and tell me what's wrong!" Emotions that Yugi had fought to keep hidden for so long were obvious by the tone of his voice. Yami was too confused to even notice them though...

"Sorry... I'm here... Yugi, what you saw... I knew it was oddly familiar to me."

"It's just a dream but what does it mean? How come it was your name?"

"Because, this wasn't only a dream... What you saw is something I wish I forgot over time. I don't know how you can know that... You weren't even alive back then!"

He stopped and continued, his voice was now trembling...

"Yugi... what you witnessed...is my death... and the one who saved me from the fire is the person who mummified me, I think anyway..."

Everything fell silent, the many questions Yugi previously had in mind disappeared as he stared outside with dull eyes, seemingly seeing everything but in fact taking in nothing...

__________

I know most of this chapter could have been taken away from my story without affecting the rest. The first part is only there to emphasize Yugi's hapiness about all of that and to add a worryless moment in my fic, since it doesn't contain too many. Most are sad, dramatic or just normal. How can Yugi dream about Yami's death, something that Yami didn't even remember himself? ;)