Impatiently, everyone, including Sugoroku whom had been called in, paced around the hospital wait room, hoping to soon hear some news from the doctors on Yugi's condition. The tension ran high and emotions in sadness, even though they had just been given another chance at life. They had arrived a mere five minutes ago, and even waiting for such a short time nearly killed them. Knowing that it could be a bit before they received any word on him, they continued to pace in the lobby, trying to keep their mind off the idea of possibly losing Yugi. Their angry stomps showed that it obviously did not work.

Sugoroku was the only one who did not pace, but he was the most nervous of the bunch. He couldn't bear the idea of losing his only grandson, one whom he felt he had a father-son relationship. Him and Yugi had done so much together, and if he were to be gone, Sugoroku would be alone, haunted by Yugi's death which he felt half responsible for. Putting his hands together, he leaned his head into his clutched hands, crying and praying that Yugi would pull through.

"I can't stand this! I'm going back there!" Jounouchi exclaimed. He began to walk back to the ER room.

"Jounouchi!" Anzu grabbed him. Honda also lent her a hand in restraining him. "You can't go back there."

"Going back there isn't going to make things easier," Otogi said quietly. "All you're gonna see is Yugi all cut open and even bloodier. To make it worse, if you went back there, and saw that they couldn't save him…"

Jounouchi stopped fighting Honda and Anzu upon hearing Otogi. He turned to Sugoroku, kneeling down and putting his hand on his knee.

"I'm so sorry that we couldn't…" Jounouchi apologized.

Sugoroku pushed Jounouchi's hand off his knee.

"Boy, must you look like you're proposing to me or something?" Sugoroku kept good spirit with Yugi's friends. "It's not your fault about what happened. You've nothing to apologize for."

"It wasn't your fault either. It wasn't even Yugi's mother's fault. It's just…something that happened," Honda told him.

"It may have taken you guys a few days to find him, but you did, and now Yugi might be able to make it," Sugoroku pointed out the fact that they all had mysteriously been missing for a few days. "Wish that the chances were better than a maybe."

Seto snorted.

"Yugi understands what he's got, whether you believe that or not. He wouldn't give up," he looked away, sitting with Mokuba.

The group knew Seto was right. At a little bit more ease, the group sat and waited for the doctor.

Yami Yugi separated his spirit from the puzzle and Yugi again, afraid that if he stayed, only tragedy awaited him. He didn't want to watch his friend die. His spirit left the room, and abandoned the inside of the building. He did not want to see the expressions of his friends' faces when they were given the news Yugi would not be coming back with them. Instead of unknowingly joining them, he went to the roof of the building, thinking he would rather be alone when his friend was lost.

On the roof, Yugi stared up at the night sky. He could see no stars, as the clouds shadowed them. Looking front at the city, he could hardly see the gorgeous city lights glow through the nebulous fog. Nothing seemed clear to him anymore. All he saw and knew was hopelessness, and staring at the dark world only reminded him of it.

What's next? What will become of me once Aibou is gone? All I see is a blank future, because without him, I'm not really anything, he thought.

Yugi sat and placed his face against his knees. He was not entirely sure if he even wanted a future without little Yugi part of it. He did not want the rest of his memories back if his partner was not there with him to get them back. It would not be as meaningful to him, since him and Yugi had been journeying together so long to get them back for him.

He turned to the city lights again.

"The city is burning," Yugi moaned. "The flames have created the smoke which covers it."

He placed his forehead on his knees again.

"What's left for me?" he asked himself.

"You know, you really are a pansy when you're all depressed," he heard a voice behind him. Curious to see who it was that could see and hear him, he turned around.

Already in a bit of shock from the fact someone could communicate with him, Yami Yugi became even more abashed by who it was. The person walked to the edge of the roof, standing up and staring at the city ahead.

"Aibou…" Yami Yugi whispered, looking at Yugi also in spirit form.

"The lights shine so wonderfully at night, don't they? Even the fog can't cover them up. They shine right through it," little Yugi said to him.

Yami Yugi didn't precisely understand his comment. Yugi had acted as if he had not heard what he said earlier.

"You know, darkness and hard times are like rain: it covers the sunlight, but it's something that's needed to make things grow. When all is said and done, the clouds clear and the sun shows off a further evolved earth. The earth has become more beautiful," Yugi smiled as he looked up at the sky.

Yami Yugi remembered trying to explain that, and knew he had to justify it. Yugi had reminded him that this dark time will pass, and that in the end, he will be even more ready for the final journey ahead of him, one which he quested for since the beginning.

"After everything that's happened, you're still somehow able to see the side where the grass is greener…how?" Yami Yugi asked his friend.

Yugi finally turned to him.

"I can't see the world as a shadow. If I did, I wouldn't know anything but fear, and if I only knew fear, then what motivation for living would I have? I'd be afraid of everyone and everything," he began. "Deep inside of everyone, there's a motivation that drives them to live, even if that motivation is merely to search for a stronger one. That's how I've always been. For a lot of my life, I've always searched for something more, something that would not only keep me on my feet, but would give me something to happily look forward to."

Little Yugi looked at his Millennium Puzzle, holding it in his hand.

"It took me years to find that motivation, but I did, and now I have what I've always wanted, plus more."

The ambition Yugi was speaking of was clear to him. He smiled back at him.

Yami Yugi had never met someone so remarkable, even in the times he did not know. He was sure of it. His entire character was someone Yami Yugi idolized, for he was courageous and tough yet soft and inspirational. He not only loved Yugi as a friend, but also had an immense amount of respect for him as a person, more than anyone he had ever encountered. In many ways, he wished he could be like him.

"Aibou, we've seen and done so much together," he said cheerfully. "There's so much more that I want us to see. I don't want our journey to end."

Yugi looked back at the city lights. The fog was quickly clearing, the clouds beginning to rush away from above the city. A slight breeze blew on the cooler night.

"You'll always…be part of a journey with me," he told him.

Yugi disappeared into the air, but Yami Yugi was not concerned. He looked back to the city lights. The fog was gone, the clouds moved onward. He seemed to become lost in a trance as he stared at Domino. No longer seeing a burning city, he looked at it with new hope, knowing what the fate of his partner would be.

You have shown me strength hidden behind tenderness. You'll surpass me by far…if you haven't yet already.

After over an hour of waiting, the doctor slowly came walking out of the ER. As soon as the group saw him, they leaped out of their chairs. Taller with brown hair and a small mustache, his large green eyes did not contain a hopeful expression.

"How is he?" Bakura asked him.

The doctor sighed.

"Is he going to be alright?" Jounouchi didn't even give the doctor time to respond.

"He lost a substantial amount of blood, and the stab wound was severely deep," he said to the large group.

They held their breaths.

"If that blade had gotten to the liver and the wound any wider...he probably wouldn't have made it," the doctor finished.

They exhaled in relief.

"So he's going to be okay!" Sugoroku exclaimed.

"Yes. He's very lucky. It will take him a bit of time to recover, but in due time, he should be fine," he said.

The group, over excited upon hearing Yugi's condition, loudly celebrated their friend's survival as if they were partying.

"I uh, do have what you might call bad news," the doctor interrupted them. "It seems to me…that this looked like a case of attempted suicide."

They froze. It was more than likely if they told the doctor the true story, he would find it insanely farfetched.

"Sir, Yugi was not suicidal," Anzu told him. "I can't imagine him trying to hurt himself in any which matter."

The doctor shook his head.

"In any case, I plan to have him questioned by a counselor just to make sure," the doctor said.

"Can we visit him?" Otogi asked.

"Yes, but don't stay too long," he responded, walking away.

The group turned to Sugoroku, who seemed a bit shaken up by the doctor's thoughts.

"You have to understand something: that wasn't suicide. He was protecting what he loved," Honda stopped, thinking he was explaining it all incorrectly. In truth, there really was no way to explain it without telling him what had happened.

"You don't have to explain anything to me," Sugoroku looked to the ground, smiling. "I think I know what you mean. I wasn't there for what really happened, and while I'm extremely concerned, I still trust him."

The group sighed in relief.

"I also trust what you say, which leads me to believe that he didn't do what the doctor said. It doesn't seem like him. He's too good for that," he concluded.

They all agreed. Sugoroku knew his grandson, and knew that somehow, Yugi would overcome everything. He had always sensed Yugi's perseverance would one day pay off for him, and it wasn't until he met Jounouchi and Honda and other friends of his that he realized that it was. He figured that Yugi wouldn't throw what he had earned away like that.

Together, they all went back to visit Yugi, who was still unconscious. Even though he was out, all of them knew that soon, he would be going back home, just like the rest of them were.

Author's Note: I could easily end it here. I could easily call it an overall happy ending and just stop writing here. But no. I've got one more idea which will be revealed in the final chapter. Not sure if you'll expect it. Maybe, we'll see.

Now I ask one small favor of all of you: at the end of the story, could you write a nice juicy review on any things you did like, things you didn't like, things I did well, things I could have done better? LOL doesn't have to be juicy, just a couple recommendations. I'm trying to improve my writing, and with those reviews, I can definitely make adjustments for future stories. You don't have to, but it would be much appreciated.
Alright then, the final chapter'll be up soon. Hope you've enjoyed it!