Here's the next chapter. Wow, I updated.

Antithesis in the Stars

            Thursday crept into being very slowly. Yami never slept anymore. The whole night was spent on staring at the ceiling while remaining silent. Barely noticeable cars raced by as Yami stared. The millennium puzzle remained on the same desk, ten days ago. Even the item looked dead with its tarnished shine. Nothing coherent formed in the immobile boy's mind. The only things that meant something to him were the memories flooding him. Although overwhelming, he welcomed all of it. They were his last memoirs of Yuugi. Yami's strong world and confidence had suddenly come crashing down around him. Darkness can't survive without light. Why was he still here? 'Why don't I just kill myself to ease this interminable pain? I know time can't erase this. I know why…it's because Yuugi would not want this.' Heated arguments ran back and forth through his head. 'I can't move on but I have to. But I can't. It would break Yuugi's heart. I can't love another. Yuugi was my one.' Yami scolded himself over and over again for not protecting his beloved. His chance was long gone and he made sure to yell at himself for it everyday. The depressed yami hadn't spoken more than a word for nearly four days. 'I need to speak before I forget how to…I can't ignore my friends. They might help allay the pain…' He squinted tiredly at the window. The sky was beginning to turn a light shade of grey, signaling the coming of dawn and a new school day. He groaned. Schoolwork was quite easy but not school itself. Far too many people had asked why he looked different or why he was silent. Anzu merely said that he got a new haircut and had laryngitis. People seemed to accept that and left him alone. He was grateful the girl for that. He watched the sun rise indifferently and only roused when Suguroko knocked on his door. His face looked very tired in front of the mirror. Dark circles had formed under his eyes from the insomnia. Shaking his head sadly, he told himself that it couldn't be helped. He took his routine shower and dressed into the uniform. Breakfast consisted of fruits. Neither grandpa nor him had had the heart to really eat. Anzu was waiting for him.

            "…Morning Anzu…"

            Shocked, she looked at him. "…"

            Hearing no response, he tilted his head back down to watch the sidewalk.

            "Yami…you want to talk?"

            "..Hai..it's not fair to you and Jou to see me like this."

            "I'm glad. I've missed your voice," she replied. Yami 'hm'ed and they continued their walk. It did not take long to get to the school. Jounouchi was waiting in the front. He jogged over to meet them.

            "Hello Jou." Jou too, was quite surprised to see Yami talk. It took him longer than Anzu to respond. He knelt down and patted his shoulder. "It's been far too long since you last talked. Thank you." Yami nodded. The pharaoh tried to hold back tears. The rivers of pain flowed down freely as he leaned into the taller boy. Jou and Anzu did their best to comfort the crying boy.

            "Yami, let it all out. This is the only way. Let go of the pain you've held in."

This was the first time in three thousand years that Yami had ever cried. It felt so good to have an outlet from all the pain. The school bell rang, signaling the start of school. The lot ignored them. Honda was also present. It had almost been an hour since school started. None of them even cared. Yami was finally ready to talk but right now, he needed to free himself up. Unable to talk, Yami sat gratefully in the presence of his friends. It seemed that they were all he needed for now. Anzu watched him worriedly. He wiped away some lingering tears.

            "Yami…do you want to go to school today?" He shook his head. Anzu bit her lip.

            "If you want, I can just turn in your homework and you take the day off…" His eyes lit up.

            "Would you really do that?" Anzu nodded solemnly. This was as much as she could do for now. "It's the least I can do and besides…school isn't your priority. Please take this time and use it for what you need." Yami looked at her, stunned. Anzu smiled and pushed the speechless boy away from school. He looked back and asked, "Are you sure about this?"

            "Mhm. You need time alone. I'm granting you a whole day." Before he could reply, all three were at the door of the school. Yami shrugged an walked off. It was still a good few hours before lunchtime. With nowhere to go, he decided that maybe the park would be a great place. No kids were around when he walked through the streets. 'Ahhh some time alone. That is what I need now…of course…' Shop owners sat in boredom on their counters, waiting for a customer to come in. A chill wind picked up and brushed through the street. Little paper cartons flew by. Yami sidestepped to avoid one and kept on walking. The park was close now and it appeared to be empty. The former pharaoh exhaled gladly. He really didn't want people to be around. Anyone could tell that he'd be crying. His eyes were still a bit watery and they were slightly swollen. Several benches lined the perimeter of the park. Yami chose one under a sakura tree. It was February 13th, a day from valentine's day. 'How ironic…I was planning to tell Yuugi tomorrow, too…That's a far away dream…It'd never come true. I love you Yuugi. I love you and only you.' A delicate flower drifted down from the branches above and landed on Yami's lap. He looked down at the little blossom. "So early?" Gingerly scooping it up, he sniffed it. From the small pink petals, a subtle scent of rose wafted. He petted the alpenglow petals, admiring the softness.

~ ~ ~

            Anzu sat in class, tapping her pencil against her desk. School was getting irritating and she was worried about Yami. Jou and Honda continuously passed notes. Anzu getting annoyed and snatched it. Seeing the annoyed look on their faces, she smirked and tossed it into the trash behind. All were too occupied to notice. None other than Seto Kaiba had caught the crumpled ball of paper. His cold blue eyes scanned over the piece of paper. His smirk grew bigger as he finished reading and shoved it in his pocket. 'So..that's why you've been so sad looking and absent today…Interesting. This could be the time to strike…' Thinking better of it, he fished the note out and put it in the trash. 'There…if they go looking for it, they'll find it.' He laughed to himself silently and continued to take notes on whatever the teacher was saying. Anzu and Jou were making faces at each other throughout the rest of class. Honda looked a bit confused but Jou was definitely flustered. Completely annoyed, she ignored all of them and continued working.

            "Ahem. Now, that's all for the notes. I will demonstrate what happens when you mix these two chemicals together," Mr. Sanoyuki said. He had an irritated look on his face and it was directed towards them. Jou sweatdropped and nodded. Honda busily scribbled down some "last notes" and looked up. Quirking an eyebrow at them, he continued with the lab. Kaiba leaned away from his chair and observed them. 'They're so interesting sometimes. The mutt and Honda…stupid is only an understatement for them. And look at Anzu. I never liked the priestess of friendship. Hmph. Friendshit is more like it. Now I know what's happening with Yami.' He looked up just as the beaker exploded. Thank god he wasn't sitting in the front row.

           Mr. Sanoyuki continued with his conclusion. "Now, see? It only takes a small pellet of cesium to explode this beaker. It is a dangerous element and you cannot touch it with your skin. Cesium will explode on contact with water. We will be doing labs on this next week. Your homework is to study the properties of cesium so that you will be prepared when you work with it. Class is dismissed."

            With a sigh, Anzu packed up her binder and papers. Jou and Honda messily shuffled their papers into their backpacks.

            "Heh, I wonder if you can get cesium online or something." Honda laughed.

            "Yea, that would be great. Heehee…we could explode a few toilets.." Anzu glared at the two laughing boys. "If you dare…" The two immediately withdrew and laughed nervously. "We..were just joking…Don't tell me you thought we were really plotting that." Suspiciously, she walked off to her locker. Jou and Honda breathed out in relief. "Whoo…she almost had us there. Can you search for it on Ebay or something?"

            "Yea."

            Anzu slammed her locker shut. Kaiba walked over casually. Not in the mood to face anyone, she looked at him in annoyance. "What do you want?"

            Chuckling, he leaned against the lockers near her. "Don't be impertinent. I haven't even said a word to you and you act like this? Sheesh."

            She narrowed her eyes. "Don't toy with me. You know I don't like you much. Get to the point."

            Remaining silent for a few seconds, he provoked her. "Impatient are we? I have all the time until lunch."

            "Well, I don't. So tell me. What do you want," she demanded once more.

            His smirk mocked her. "That could be taken in a variety of different ways…"

            "I'm not waiting for your lewd remarks. Tell me or leave."

            He strolled over to the other side of he and responded very slow. "I want to know where Yami is now." He continued slowly, "And where he will be…tomorrow."

            He blue eyes widened at his question. "Why…" She asked carefully, "Do you want to know?"

            "For my own reasons. Well, I got to the point. Now tell me."

            "Why should I? What are you gonna do? Kill him?" Seto looked up at the ceiling. "Not a bad idea but that's not what I'm looking for. So tell me."

            "I will not unless you tell me what you intend to do with him." Kaiba fiddled with a lock. "Does is really matter? I just promise that I won't do any harm to him."

            "Can I trust you on that?"

            "I like to keep my integrity. I'd as soon as sell my company for a dollar than hurt him."

            Hesitantly, she answered. "I'll take your word on that. He will probably be at the game shop today and about tomorrow, I don't know if he's ready for school yet. Does that satisfy your interests?"

            "Yes." He walked off. Anzu flipped her hair back and returned to her backpack. 'Feh, you'd at least expect a thank you at the very least.'  She heard Jou and Honda laughing histerically down the hall. That was not a good sign.

~ ~ ~

            Yuugi sat on the ceiling, hanging down from the lamp of the living room. Bakura and Ryou were still at school and it was only about 6th period. There really wasn't anything to do so he fluttered down from his perch. A chill breeze picked up outside and the window was slightly opened. The rush of cold air brushed his bangs up against his face. He tried ineffectually to close the window. Yuugi's fingers slowly passed through the panes of glass. He tried many techniques to try and close the window but none of them worked. He didn't know how much time had passed until the front door swung open. 'Already five thirty???' He was quite surprised to know that. Ryou entered first and set his backpack on the couch. Bakura followed while muttering under his breath.

            When Ryou saw him, he smiled. He walked up to the angel silently and pushed the bangs out of his face. Bakura walked over to the window and closed it. The coldness started to die away. Ryou was the first to speak.

            "Hello. What have you been doing all day?"

            "Hanging out, figuratively and literally. I've also been trying to close that window since the early afternoon."

            Bakura laughed out loud. "Hard to touch when you're not solid huh?"

            "Yea."  Ryou shot his yami a glance. The room remained silent even after that. "You have anything planned for the evening? Today was a tough day. Bakura and I are going out for dinner."

            Yuugi looked up. "I doubt I can eat so I guess I'll either stay here or go somewhere else." Ryou smiled again and nodded. The couple exited. 'I wonder where I should go…Maybe to see Yami again. I wan to see him even though it will hurt.'

            Yami had sat in the park for the whole day now, just observing the sky. The blue sky had turned to a dark shade of night. After sitting for more than nine hours, he was getting tired of sitting. He reverted to the green grass near him under the tree. Looking at the stars was soothing. Twinkling orbs of light reflected back at the mourning pharaoh. He seemed to be lost in a trance as he looked up. 'Yuugi…I see you in the stars…It's as if you've gone to   . It must be beautiful up there. I love you so much. I wish I could see you…and not just your face in the sky. Even in black, it still shines with such brilliance. The stars there match up…' Yami was lost deep in his reverie, half conscious, half unconscious. Yuugi was looking for the Kame game shop in the twilight. Suddenly a duller pain hit his heart. He looked down to see Yami's half-lidded eyes looking up at the sky. He looked down in adoration and sadness. With nowhere to land, he spotted the sakura tree. Flapping his wings gently, not wanting to disturb his love, he landed on the branch. He looked down at his Yami. Even though in pain, he was still the most beautiful creature he'd ever set his eyes upon.

            Yami stared into space. His vision blurred for a sec. 'Am I just losing my mind to depression or is that Yuugi in the tree?' He idly brushed back a few strands of hair. Yuugi stared down into those crimson orbs and sighed. He whispered, "I wish I was alive again.." The string of words floated down into Yami's hazy mind and they made no sense. They didn't stand out from any other thought in his mind until the word 'alive' suddenly showed itself to him. His eyes snapped wide open and he sat up. He looked around confusedly. "Yuugi? Are you out there?" Yuugi cringed and leapt into the air. He looked with teary eyes back at his yami. "I'm sorry. I can't let you know I'm here yet. I can't look at you without pain. I love you…" A single crystalline tear fell from his eyes. He flew off towards Ryou's house. The droplet fell on Yami's face. 'These aren't my tears…' He looked at the tree. Several petals were on the ground and they weren't there before. A barely noticeable scent of rose lingered in the air. "Yuugi…" The words he heard reverberated in his head. The three words he had always wanted to hear.

~Owari~

That's the end of that. Half cliffhanger but not really. Sorry like nothing's been going on in these few chapters. I promise more action in later ones ^_^. Review and no flames. I'll write the next chapter soon!