I noticed a small, tiny, ity-bity little boo-boo I made at the end of the last chapter!! *oops*

And, as I don't have the time to retype it right now, I'll correct it right here, since it was only in the last sentance.

Shinta comments that his mother had just baked a batch of cookies. As you'll find out in this chapter, Shinta's mother is dead.

So, it was actually Yami who had baked a batch of cookies!!! ^_^ So, just ignore my comments about Shinta's mother being alive, please!!!

Mmmmm... Yami cookies.....


Chapter Three:

The Long Lost Cousin


Yami stared at the small boy, tucked into the bed that had once been in his own room. Light streamed in faintly through the window, the street lamp outside blaring its presence. Yami sighed, tempted to walk into the room, to pick up the small blonde, and sob.

After all these years of putting the past behind him, of constantly reminding himself that Fate had willed Yugi to be sealed away, that it wasn't his fault, he had him back. He had his hikari within reach, but he could do nothing about it.

Yugi did not remember him, and had no link with the older man any longer. The small blonde was Shinta's aibou now, his yami. And there was nothing Yami could do about it, but watch.

It was if a nightmare was playing in front of his eyes, over and over and over. His dream was filled with shadowy darkness, everything he had ever wished for had been smashed against the cliffs of Fate.

"Yugi, oh Yugi..." Yami sighed sadly, closing the door once more, a tear streaking down his face. He looked in on Shinta briefly, placing his red headed son back under the sheets, and securing the pillow under his head with a brief smile.

Shinta was all he had left, after Anitra had died. Shinta was all he lived for, and now even he had found a way to torture Yami. Yami kissed the boy on the forhead, and headed back to his cold, lonely bed....


"Come on Yugi, I can't wait to introduce you to all the kids at school!!! You'll love it!!" Shinta chirped happily, stuffing yet another spoon full of over sugared cereal into his mouth. Yugi laughed, and smiled, warming Yami's as he watched the two boys.

"Now, remember Yugi, you're a long lost cousin, on my side of the family." Yami said, his face a mask of stern cheerfulness. Yugi smiled, his violet eyes glowing warmly, and nodded.

"Yes, Uncle Yami!" Yugi chipped, straightening the leather choker on his neck for the umpteenth time. Shinta sighed, and grabbed his older 'cousins' arm.

"Come on, we're going to be late!!!" Shinta shouted, and Yugi hurried behind the red head, bolting out the door with his school bag.

"Good luck you two!" Yami shouted, watching them disappear into the distance. "Good luck Yugi, my aibou." Yami whispered, falling to the floor behind the closed door, sobbing...


"Dude, you have a cousin!?" Seita (*No relation to Seito, it just so happens I like this name!! Watch 'Grave of the Fireflies', and you'll understand!!*) eyed Yugi, stunned. The two boys looked very much alike, the same eyes, the same air of innocence, the same hair style. Of course, while Yugi sported the odd three colored spike look, Shinta's was merely an intense crimson.

Shinta sighed, shaking his head again. He had explained to Seita three times that morning that Yugi was his cousin, and his friend still did not seem to understand the concept of relatives.

"Seita, you want that I should clean your clock?" Shinta asked, shaking his fist with mock anger. Setsuko, coming up behind Seita, draped her arms around her friend, and stared at Yugi.

"So, he a cousin of yours, or somethin'? He's kinda cute!" Setsuko smiled as Yugi blushed a very intense crimson.

//Shinta, please, could we go to class now!// Yugi begged mentally, edging away from Shinta's large group of friends, curious about the new comer/

/Sure thing, Yugi. The bells gonna ring soon anways./ Shinta smiled, and waved a path through the crowd.

//Thank You.// Yugi sighed, following his hikari into the classroom....


"Watch it, short!" a girl with snowy hair snapped, holding up her fist. Yugi ducked away as Shinta dragged him toward his table.

"Sorry!" Yugi called back, and the white hair girl growled, held back by a group of friends. Shinta sighed, sitting his yami down, and pulled out his paper lunch.

"Yugi, that was Tsuru, just stay away from her and you'll be fine. She's got one mean tamper." Shinta explained. Seita rolled his eyes.

"There's the understatement of the year! She curdle water just by glaring at it!" Seita joked, tossing his pudding cup to Setsuko. Setsuko tossed a can of pop back over to him, much to the displeasure of the people beneath the lunch exchange.

"She seems... familiar..." Yugi thought to himself, unable to grasp the memory that was sifting in his unconscious. After a few minutes of concentration, he shrugged his shoulders, and gave up.

/Uh... what were you doing? You looked like you were sitting through a math quiz!/ Shinta asked mentally. Yugi smiled.

//Sorry, something was bugging at my mind, that's all. Hey, this is pretty good!!!// Yugi giggled giddily as he stuffed a chocolate-caramel-frappachino bar in his mouth. (*I know there's no such candy bar, but there should be!!!*) Everyone at the table stared at him nervously.

"Dude, haven't you ever had a chocolate bar before!?" Seita asked, eyeing Yugi nervously as he looked for more chocolate.

"Hey, don't you know? All long lost relatives come from outer Mongolia, and eat nothing but sticks and stones!!" Setsuko answered, smiling proudly as the entire table broke out into laughter.

"Why me!?" Shinta mock sobbed into his hands, hiding his huge grin. Yugi looked over at him, concerned.

//Is everything alright, hikari?// Yugi asked mentally. Shinta repreced his sigh.

/Yes, Yugi, it was just a joke./ Shinta explained. Yugi nodded, the entire situation very familiar. As if he had done something similar in the past.

Yugi shook his head, clearing it from the overy hyperd sugar-high, and the odd half-memories that seemed to be haunting him.

The lunch bell rang, and everyone headed back to their classes, bemoaning the tortures of school....


"See ya later, guys!!" Shinta shouted, waving to his friends as he left their route, heading toward the Turtle Game Shop. His friends waved, and Yugi, holding yet another candy bar in his mouth, waved as well.

They had discovered, or at least Setsuko had set upon it, that Yugi had a sweet tooth for chocolate, the size of Jupiter. And so, Shinta had also discovered that, no matter what was happening, his yami would drop everything for the precious sugary substance. Shinta sighed, and dragged Yugi back toward the game shop.

"Dad, we're home!" Shinta yelled, attempting to throw the door open.

However, it seemed that, much to Shinta's dismay, the door would not open. In fact, the door remained shut and locked, the store closed, and the lights off, no matter how many times the young red head rubbed his eyes.

"Yugi, I'm worried. Dad never closes the shop early, ever." Shinta looked over at his other half, tears forming in his eyes. For his father, Yami, to close the shop early, or not even bother opening it in the first place, something must be dreadfully wrong....


So, is that enough of a cliff hanger for you?

(*Ducks as misc objects go sailing by*)

I'll try to update by Saterday, I promise!!

So, once more, R&R please!!