Come What May Chapter 4: Epilogue, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

A/N: I relate to Yuugi in this first scene I give him. So very very very much. Based on my reaction this morning! But only vaguely, b/c I am neither male, nor a duellist, nor am I sleeping outside on a cold, barren ground with only a sleeping bag, concerned for the state of grandfather's soul which has been kidnapped by an insane (Yeah: insanely FUNNY!) card-game inventor.

Disclaimer: Still here. Still not mine. (pauses) Yet. (wicked grin)

Come What May

Epilogue

Sarah lay on her back, arms crossed behind her head. Her eyes shaded to deep blue as she sunk into deep thought, staring up at the starry sky. Once again, there were no clouds to impede her view and the seemingly ageless watchers gazed back at her across countless light-years. They seemed to twinkle like brilliant diamonds, scattered across a surface of coal.

Was that Yuugi? She couldn't help but wonder about that. She found she was fast falling for the sweet, emotional duelist. To her eyes, he certainly resembled the diamonds. But who was the coal? Was it her? His…other half? Was it his situation? Pegasus? Kaiba?

She blinked, and shifted in her sleeping bag. 'Or maybe,' she thought to herself, 'you're just fatigued and are reading waaayyy too much into things.'

A walk would help her, she decided. Quietly, so as not to disturb the others, she got out of her substitute bed and entered the deeper woods.

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{Mrf...?}

{No…sleep good.}

{...Ya…mi…? Whazzrong?}

At those words, Yuugi's eyes shot open. "Leaving?!" he exclaimed aloud. To his right, Ryou shifted and scrunched his nose in obvious denial of waking up. Yuugi hunched his shoulders in defensive embarrassment and blushed.

{Leaving? Where did she go?}

Yuugi paused for a moment in struggling to get out of his sleeping bag. {You wake me up at a ridiculously early hour, harass me, inform me that one of my, um, best friends is leaving, make me care in my sleep-deprived state, and now you want to know if I'm going to follow?}

A pause.

Yuugi shook his head and finished climbing out of his Dark Magician sleeping bag. {Yami, sometimes, I swear…}

{No, that's not what I… Oh, forget it. Where did Sarah go again?}

Yuugi followed Yami's instructions into the woods.

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There was someone following her. Sarah stopped mid-stride and cautiously turned about. Her eyes scanned the bushes, noting every blade of grass and bush leaf. So help her, if Pegasus was out here…

"Ow!"

She hesitated.

"Ooh! That hurt!"

She narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Gah! What is with these thorns?"

She blinked. This was the worst stalker that she'd ever encountered. Still, perhaps he was so confident in his fighting skills that he didn't need to be careful. Once again, she slipped easily into the defensive stance, arms at the ready. Sure, she was tired and sore, but that had never stopped her before and it certainly wasn't going to now.

The rustling grew closer. The muscles in her arms tensed and she automatically assessed the area once more for hidden traps. She still couldn't see any, but that didn't mean that they weren't there. Her hand clenched and raised itself that critical inch…

Only to freeze as Yuugi himself stumbled through the undergrowth.

She stared, slack-jawed with embarrassment. This was the second time in less than two days that she'd almost attacked someone who hadn't even deserved it! That did it. When she got back to the city, she was definitely re-taking her training course.

"Yuugi?!"

Yuugi seemed surprised to see her too, for some reason. "Oh! Um… hey, Sarah! Uh. Nice night, huh?" For a lack of better things to do, he immediately stared at the sky and shifted into polite small talk.

"Oh. Yeah! It's, um… it's a great night. Very. Um, very nice."

She, too, turned to stare at the glimmering stars above. At this moment, she was pretty sure they were only twinkling because they were laughing at her.

Around them, the crickets chirped. Neither could forget the events from the day and so the mood was tinged not only with discomfort, but also with alertness.

Several minutes later, she heard Yuugi take a deep breath. "Um, Sarah. I-I have something to say, and I'd like you to listen, ok?"

She turned, half-surprised at the broken silence, yet also half-uneasy at what she was pretty sure he was going to say. Still, if it was Yuugi, she'd be more than happy to listen, just to hear his voice. And if he wanted a favour, if it was in her power, then she'd most likely do that, too.

"… All right, Yuugi. Shoot."

A chilly breeze suddenly drifted through the area, and Sarah shivered. She glanced behind her once, an automatic reaction, then turned back. Yuugi seemed different somehow again. And had he grown…?

"Sarah." This voice was confident and deep and authoritative. This was a voice that would demand a thousand ships be launched, if only on a whim, and have the order immediately obeyed.

Sarah blinked as she realized: This was the other Yuugi. Not when he was "playing nice," nor when he was fiercely protecting his other half. This was simply his natural state of existence, where he spoke and everyone listened and obeyed.

"Yes?"

Crimson eyes blazed steadily at her. "You know who I am." It was a statement, not a question.

Fine! Two can play at this game! She was sick of obeying this guy, anyway.

"Yes, I do. Not that it was that hard to figure out – it's not as if you act at all like Yuugi. Especially not when you're like this."

A hand came up and waved the speech aside, dismissing it as unimportant. "Then you know that I guard my aibou with my very existence."

"…'Aibou'?"

"He is my other half – the light of my world. He keeps the baying hounds of the darkness at bay and saves me from myself."

Oh. Well, that would certainly explain the various quirks that she'd seen in the past 24 hours alone. She'd wondered about how Yuugi always seemed to be avoiding any potential danger. If he had another being – probably a spirit – to subconsciously guide him out of danger…

Sarah bit her lip to restrain the comment that wanted to be spoken. 'Great job of protecting him earlier, by the way. Were you waiting for an engraved golden invitation?'

Oddly enough, Yuugi's crimson eyes suddenly swivelled down, and the body shifted slightly. "I…" The dark Yuugi took a bolstering breath. "This is not easy for me to admit, much less to say. Especially not to you, a relative newcomer in my aibou's life. Still, this needs to be said. I – I thank you, Sarah Katoma. For being the physical strength where I could not. For saving my aibou when I… when I could not. For –"

The spirit was suddenly cut off when Sarah turned away, shook her head, and held up a hand for him to stop speaking. "Don't. I don't know what I should call you, but I don't need your thanks, ok? I fought Pegasus because it needed to be done. And sure! Sure I was worried about Yuugi. Um… the other Yuugi. I mean, Pegasus was going to sacrifice him! Seriously!"

She trailed off, fuming in her impotency. She still couldn't believe that she'd let that jerk go with only a bloody nose to show as his punishment. She hoped, in her spiteful state, that it would have long-lasting effects and bleed all over his favourite things.

"Anyway. Please don't thank me. I was only doing what should be done."

"Still, you were fighting for my aibou, were you not? Because you like him."

She 'urked,' twitching in shock. The other Yuugi was perceptive, too?! Still, since she valued truth beyond almost anything else…

"Yes. Fine. I do like Yuugi. But if you tell him…"

"Sarah! You like me?"

Her head flew around again, only to stare in wide-eyed shock at the blushing Yuugi. There was no doubt that this was the more trusting version. 'And he just overheard me because the other Yuugi must have let the regular Yuugi take over. That does it. When that other Yuugi shows up again, he is so dead. Well, dead again. Yeah. And am I the only one who's confused?'

"Wow! Um… I … really like you, too, Sarah." Her violet-eyed crush trailed off, looking at her with impossibly gorgeous eyes. His face tinged red, as he stared at her hopefully.

She smiled, ignoring the blush that was spreading over her cheeks. "Hey, Yuugi. D'you wanna see something great?"

"Sure!"

A while later, the pair sat on a bench that looked over the cliff. Yuugi relaxed, swinging his legs casually, as Sarah fought off a yawn.

"Hey, Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"I never thanked you for saving me, did I?"

She shrugged. She was too tired to have this conversation over again. "Don't worry about it. I know."

"Ok."

A comfortable silence reigned once more, as the sky lightened past the pre-dawn. In the nearby trees, birds began to chirp once more, awakened by their unfailing internal alarm.

"Hey, Sarah?"

She couldn't stop the yawn from escaping this time. "Ah…yeah?"

"We still have a long way to go, don't we? Against Pegasus, I mean."

She shrugged again. "How about we burn that bridge when we get to it?"

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Burn?"

She gave a sheepish smile. "Or build? I've warped that quote too many times to say it correctly anymore."

"How about 'cross'?"

She poked his cheek. "Silly, I'm not mad."

"Sheesh! I meant 'cross the bridge'! Seriously! What is with people not understanding me today?"

She chuckled and stretched. "All right, then. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Come what may, though, we'll look out for each other, ok?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two watched the sun rise. The air around it seemed filled with warmth once more, and the pastel and neon hues mixed to form a stunning display that arched across the canvas of the sky. Both duellists watched it in awe, unaware that the other was thinking the same thing:

'A new day, a new chance to get to Pegasus. And, come what may, I'll look out for you. I promise.'

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A/N: Ta-DAH! All done! Thank you very much for reading (and reviewing. The subtle, lead-filled hint that's been dropped from three miles in the sky.)

Dedicated to Lady Winged Knight. Super nice girl, and creator of funk-ay characters! Any notes / clarifications that you're wondering about (re: Sarah) can be directed to her! Still, feel free to e-me if you wanna ask stuff about the story. (Shrugs) Seeing as I wrote it, and all...