A/N: Oh gosh, I haven't updated in two months or so… And I haven't even been busy! I really, really stink. Oh well. This is the second to the last chapter. I might update tomorrow with the last one. Thankies for the reviews!

The song comes from Evanescence. I wanted to use it for the last chapter, but the next chapter song was more fitting so I turned it into chapter eight.

Chapter Eight: Whisper

My plan has now started. There is no where to run and no way to back out now.

The rod of gold was not difficult to steal from little Yugi. Not even his dark half could stop me. At least I can go through with this knowing that the pharaoh is out of the way for good. Too bad I couldn't get the thief too.

Under the moonlight the gold glints and shines, smiling evilly. My lips twitch into a smile to meet it, but this one is not cruel. I keep trying, but it doesn't work.

I look up and see the perfect night. Dark clouds swirl high above me and only the glowing full moon shines through in a perfect circle. The waves on the ocean are noisier and crash against the shore's boulders. They bang wildly, but do not disturb the serenity.

It's all so perfect.

I close my eyes and spread out my arms, letting the cold wind blow on my face and bare arms. The water gently lapped at my bare toes and the moist sand crept between my toes. Even if my eyes were closed I could feel the sweet moonbeams kissing my skin. The rod in my hand feels heavy, so unlike before. The metal is cold against my skin and sends a shiver up my spine. Oh well. Even perfection has its flaws.

"It all ends here," are the words I utter as I try to smile. It hurts too much. Even more than the whiskey.

"Yami?"

My heart stops. Looks like perfection has two flaws.

Dear Ra, no.

Slowly turning around I open my eyes and see my hikari. The omote didn't look different, even if a year had passed. He wasn't wearing a jacket, even if it was freezing. Without anything to cover his arms I could see the scars had healed. Was it possible that his mind healed?

To me, none of that mattered. I had longed to see him, and now he stood in front of my eyes.

Pain clutched my chest.

No, there is no way I can see him. Not tonight.

"Yami, is that really you?"

Malik Ishtar, standing right in front of me. And he cared. I could tell by the heavy emotion woven in his voice. He cared…

Unable to answer the hikari I turn to face the ocean again. Even if I was staring at the water's surface, I could still see his lavender eyes piercing into my own indigo orbs. I can hear him quietly shuffle across the sand as he came close, asking, "Where have you been all this time?"

I expected the slight awe in his voice, even if he hated me, any person would be amazed to see someone after a year without any notice. But concern? Sadness? Longing? Did those emotions even exist when he spoke them?

"My beautiful hikari, you should not be out. It's cold."

Why was my voice sounding funny? It was… strained, and choked. It was almost as if I could even speak at all.

"Yami, tell me what's wrong. Why did you leave?"

Pleading. Not the kind that tells you to stop, but the kind that is longing.

But the foolish boy should know. He knows perfectly why I left. The invisible scars on his arms should be enough.

"Go away."

My eyes looked down.

"I do not want to see you."

A lump rises in my throat. The lies I spoke were choked out. The emotions in me kept building up and it nearly made me cry out. What was wrong with me?

"I was worried."

…

…

…He was worried?

No… that can't be right. My hikari hates me! HE HATES ME! No, why is he worrying?

The weight of a hand is placed on my shoulder. His fingertips barely touch the skin of my shoulders. Yet that is enough to my body tremble and a cry is barely choked back. Without thinking I take his hand with one of mine, back still to him. I press it against my cheek, savoring the warmth. My light can even melt the darkness with a simple touch…

Something cold fell on my cheek. The same feeling continued to dapple my skin and I look up. Tiny snowflakes drift down and fall from the sky to the earth, onto the sands and waves. It falls onto our bodies, causing the skin to prickle, and melting into small droplets of water onto our skin, but soon disappear.

Perfection has corrected itself. It had presented to me this perfect moment.

"Hikari?"

He leans against me, head on my back. His warmth surprises me.

"Yes, Yami?"

He makes this harder. Why does he make it harder?

"Who am I?"

Through our link, repaired by our unusual closeness, I could feel confusion rise. To him, or to anyone, the question would be answered with a name. A name that belongs to shadows. And he answered just as I thought he would.

"You are my Yami."

I feel a smirk twitch at my lips. Yes, I am his dark half.

"Sweet hikari, I am much more than that."

Fear rises in the link. More confusion. Mostly fear. Emotions that I knew would only be raised.

I higher my eyes to the sky. Tiny flakes of snow keep falling, dancing in front of my vision. The moon has wisps of cloud swirling in front of it, but it is still clear. There was no way to avoid my hikari anymore. He must be told, no matter what happens.

"Yes sweet hikari. I am your darkness. But I am much more than that. I am the darkness. I am bitter emotions that rest inside every human being that has lived for even a single moment in history. I am all their pain. I am sorrow."

His strong hand tenses on my shoulder and his head lifts up from my back. I can feel him shake against my body. Fear rises.

"Sweet hikari, while I too may bleed like you and everyone else, I am not human. I am the scion of darkness, born of your hatred. Yet the false heart beating in my chest yearns for things. I want the emotions the darkness is a stranger to. I want them. I need them. I need it so bad it hurts."

His grip tightens slightly. I can feel eyes burning into the back of my head. I can feel something strange in the link. Something I don't know. A feeling of… pity? What is that?

"Yami, you can have those things too."

I give out a mirthless laugh. Does he really think that? If I could get those things, I wouldn't have this plan.

"Foolish hikari. I can't. You do not realize that this is impossible. It will remain that way until I am no longer the darkness and these longings stop. That too is impossible. But, despite that, I have indeed found a way to forget these things."

It is then that hikari that quick notice of the Sennen Rod in my hand. His breath catches and I know that his eyes are widening. His squeezes my hand tightly.

"Yami…" he whispers softly, "what are you planning to do?"

Removing my hand from his grip I walk forward into the freezing waters. It laps around my legs, chilling me. I stare up at the moon and falling snow. It takes many moments until I tell him:

"I am going to join the shadows."