Yeah, that's right! Another chapter! About time, right? I was putting myself on such a guilt trip for not updating sooner, so I hope this one lives up to your expectations. I plan to have the next chapter out soon, since school will be out and I can give a little more time to writing. If I'm starting to take too long, bug me, guilt trip me, anything (nicely though, please!). Make me get that next chapter out.

Special thanks to my two betas for this chapter, Miriku-Yami's Queen of the Nile-Yami no Hikari and especially, Erudit, for taking the time out of their busy schedules to read over my chapters and let me know where I'm making mistakes and especially how to fix them. You girls are great! Go give them some love too.

And to all those people who have reviewed and those who will (hopefully) review in the future, I want to give you a huge thank you. It means a lot to me to see that people are enjoying my stories, and I am always glad to read what you have to say. I also like to have the chance to speak back, so I'm going to start posting replies to your reviews and progress in my livejournal, username Sturi (which will hopefully get more use now that this is the plan), mainly so I don't clutter up the chapters with excess writing. And, it should make for a little easier time of replying back—I hope.

I did reply to Slifer's comment at the bottom, although she asked no question, I just felt I needed to explain my reasoning a little. It's just a little side blurb on my thought process concerning Malik's character.

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Return

Chapter 4

Memories

The two embraced in the doorway for a long time. It was Yami who broke the contact between them, albeit reluctantly. Yugi looked up into the ruby eyes of his dark half, slight confusion written across his face, before he realized that they were still standing in the open doorway.

"Oh, um, yeah. Come inside, uh," a momentary pause, "Atemu." The name came out of Yugi's mouth in an awkward way.

Yami looked down at his Aibou, catching Yugi's unease with his given name. "I think I prefer the name Yami if you don't mind, Yugi. Atemu was the past, Yami is now."

Yugi smiled brightly at Yami, and led him into the house. They sat down on the couch and Yugi could barely restrain himself as the questions began to surface. Yami chuckled at the small one's impatience, knowing exactly what was running through Yugi's mind.

"Okay, go ahead and ask."

"How did you come back?"

"Surprisingly, it was easier than I could have dreamed. I was unhappy in the afterlife, even though I was among the gods. Hathor took pity on me and pleaded my case to Osiris. He brought Ra in to judge me, and I was allowed return to the world of the living. To you." Yami was absently fidgeting with his hands as he spoke. Yugi didn't notice.

"Wow! Hathor, Osiris, Ra! That's amazing! But, why were you unhappy there? Wasn't it like a paradise?" Yugi's questions continued.

"Yes, it was paradise. It was the realization of every pharaoh's dream." Yami sighed as he started to answer. He didn't want to fully answer that question yet, and stalled for time by glancing at the clock. It was nearing 3:30 in the morning. "Yugi, it's quite late. You have school in just a couple of hours. You should try to get some sleep."

"Yeah," Yugi tried to stifle a yawn as he stood, "you're right." How Yami knew he had school in the morning never even crossed his mind. "Wait here Yami." Yugi called as he made his way up the stairs.

Yugi returned in a couple of minutes carrying a pillow and some blankets. They were stacked high enough in his arms that Yami could barely see the red tips of his hair. The pile was dropped unceremoniously onto the couch. Yami looked at his Aibou, curiosity and confusion plain on his face.

"I'm sorry Yami, but there's not an open room for you to stay in right now. Malik is my roommate and has the spare that was empty back when you were here. You'll have to stay on the couch for tonight."

"I understand, Aibou." Yami started to arrange the blankets and pillow into a makeshift bed. He had forgotten that Malik had made an appearance in Yugi's life a little while ago. It hadn't bothered him much in the afterlife. "Goodnight Yugi. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Yugi yawned once more and then turned to make his way up the stairs. "Goodnight Yami." He hoped he could at least get a few more hours of sleep before he had to get up for his morning classes. Looking over his shoulder, he watched Yami begin to settle in for a moment before continuing up to his room.

"Holy Ra! What are you doing here!" Malik had walked down the stairs to find Yami sitting on the couch with a glass of orange juice, watching the morning news. Yami glanced over his shoulder to look at the blond teen.

"I'm back from the afterlife."

"Obviously. But why? How?"

"I think those questions are better left unanswered for the moment. I would like to wait to tell everyone at the same time." Yami stood up from the couch. He looked a little nervous for a brief moment. "Um, Malik, do you know how to make breakfast?"

"Uh, yeah. You haven't eaten yet?" Malik looked Yami up and down. The Pharaoh was still dressed in his old Egyptian attire, minus the spikey gold pieces, which he noticed were laying on the coffee table.

"Nope. Yugi never got the opportunity to show me how to use the kitchen. I don't want to take the chance of breaking anything."

Malik nodded. "Well then, follow me. I'll show you how to use the toaster and microwave. That should get you by for now." He walked into the kitchen and motioned for Yami to follow.

Opening the refrigerator, Malik pulled out some bacon and eggs. He motioned to a drawer along the far wall. "Yami, will you grab some bread out of the drawer over there?"

"Um, okay." Yami started looking through the drawers nearest to him and went through three before locating the correct one. He brought the bag of bread over to Malik. "Here."

"Okay, pull two slices out and place them in this thing here." He pointed to the toaster. "One slice goes in each slot. Then you pull down the lever and wait for the bread to pop back up. It takes a few minutes." Yami did as he was told, and Malik went back to rummaging through a pile of pans, finally locating the frying pan he had been searching for.

Malik pulled a dish out of the cabinet and placed a paper towel on the plate. He reached over and pushed the bacon in front of Yami. "Okay, take out a few slices and arrange them straight on the plate here. I'll show you how to use the microwave in just a minute. Let me get the eggs started."

Breakfast had gone by somewhat smoothly. Yami was quite surprised that Malik had helped him out. And what surprised him even more was the fact that Malik was actually a half-decent cook. He had never thought of the blond in any other manner except as an obstacle; at the beginning as his opponent in Battle City, and later as a puzzle to decipher so Yami could regain his identity. They didn't say much to each other over breakfast. Perhaps Yugi's presence would make things more comfortable.

"Well, I'm headed out. I've got to get to work." Malik stood from the table and placed his dishes in the sink.

"I thought you worked in the game shop." Yami looked at Malik, confused.

Pausing to think about how Yami might have known that he worked in the shop, he then replied, "I work there too, but only to help with the loose ends. I have a second job. I'll see you later. Yugi should be home in a couple of hours, usually by two." The blond made his way out the door, leaving Yami alone with nothing to do.

Yami stood from the table. Now what to do? He was stuck in the house, with a few hours to kill. He decided to look around. It had been so many years since he had walked out of the life he had shared with Yugi, and he figured he might gain some further insight into the young man's life. The rooms were still the same. Same furniture, same decorations, same pictures, with a few more added to the collection. He marveled at the way the pictures told the story of aging, and it made Yami feel a little bit saddened that he had had to miss some of Yugi's growing up. Yami made his way upstairs, his legs taking him automatically into Yugi's room.

He found that his Aibou's room hadn't changed much either. The only hint that time had passed at all was, again, the photos. There were plenty of them around the desk area, and Yami enjoyed looking at the smiling faces. So many memories. Unfortunately, he had not been able to take part in many of them. He walked over to Yugi's bed and sat down.

"I've missed so much." Yami said to no one but an empty room. The room that he and Yugi had spent countless nights together in—either planning strategy for their next big adventure to save the world, or simply talking and just being friends.

Yami started to stand up, but in the process his hand slid out from underneath him. It brushed something that was stored under Yugi's pillow. He pulled the object out from its hiding place and realized it was a photograph. It looked like it had been taken just after the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Jonouchi and Honda were making odd gestures as Yugi stood between them. Wait. That's not Yugi. That's me. Yami looked harder at the image of Yugi in the photo, and although there was a subtle difference between him and Yugi, there was no mistaking that the person in the photo was him. He had no doubt that Yugi knew it was Yami in the photograph. That could explain it's hallowed home in Yugi's room. I wonder…

"Yami! Yami, I'm back! Yami?" Yugi walked into the living room. He saw that the blankets he had given Yami for the night were neatly folded, pillows placed on top. The heavy gold pieces Yami had been wearing were laid on the table with his folded cloak. So it was real. He wandered through the living room and to the kitchen, pausing at the game shop somewhere in between. Not finding Yami downstairs, he made his way up.

He opened the door to his room slowly and was met with the sight of Yami napping on his bed. A photograph was in his hand. Yugi walked over quietly and slowly pulled the photo out of Yami's grip. When he looked back up at Yami's face, he was met with open crimson eyes.

Sitting up, Yami motioned for Yugi to come sit down next to him. As the boy sat, Yami placed an arm over his shoulder and pulled him close.

"This was the only thing I had left." Yugi held up the photo. He had spoken so softly that Yami had almost missed the words. Yugi's eyes went out of focus as he continued. "There was nothing left after you had gone. I was so lonely. It was hard living every day being reminded of you and of the fact that I wouldn't see you for a long time, if ever again." Ha paused. "Anzu—before she left, she handed me a small stack of pictures from our adventures. To this day I don't really know if she knew that was you in this picture." Yugi closed his eyes and pulled in a ragged breath.

Yami looked down at his aibou. He had never realized that Yugi had missed him so much. He had always looked so happy. Yugi had been living his life, growing up into a fine young man—without him. Yami had never thought that his departure would have hurt Yugi as much as it apparently had. The boy looked to be so full of life, but here he was now, telling Yami that he had truly been hollow. Yami did the only thing he could do. His arms tightened around Yugi and he pulled him into a gentle hug. "My Aibou. My Yugi. I'm so sorry."

Yugi let himself be pulled to Yami. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. He just didn't have the strength to hold them at bay anymore.

"Shh, Aibou. It's alright. Let it go." Yami tightened his hold on Yugi slightly. He hadn't ever seen Yugi cry after he left to enter the afterlife. The boy needed this release.

Yugi gripped the front of Yami's tunic as if afraid to let go. Yami rested his head on top of Yugi's as the boy continued to deal with the overwhelming emotions.

Minutes passed and Yugi's tears slowed. He pulled back just enough to be able to see Yami's face. Yugi spoke softly. "All I had were the memories. And those just weren't enough."

Yami looked deeply into the beautiful violet eyes of his hikari, and nearly drowned in the sea of emotions he found there. "You have me."

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As promised, a small look into my thought process. Feel free to agree, disagree, whatever. I would love to hear other people's views concerning this.

To refresh our memories, Slifer commented that Malik and Yugi make an unusual pair for roommates:

Yeah, I know what you mean. That's actually why I picked Malik—he's so unusual. I was planning to have Ryou there instead, but I just thought Malik was a better choice of the two. Also, I know Malik gets portrayed as this "psycho", (especially in fanfiction--not to say it isn't fun or entertaining) but I just can't see him like that, or at least not to such an extreme. The last episode of the Battle City tournament really made me think about his personality. He is really a deep character.

Throughout the Battle City episodes, the flashbacks really only show him as a little spoiled child. Although I might be wrong, but don't you think that him being told he's really "special", even if it is for something that Malik doesn't consider as such, would give him a bit of an ego? He's bound to feel that he's better than others, and coupling that with Marik—that makes a recipe for disaster like we saw. Malik thinks he's owed something because he has been singled out as a special person among the tomb keepers. He's the youngest, and still very immature, but he is above his sister because he is a male, and above Odion because he is of the bloodline.

His reality was different from the outside world's since the day he was born, and Ishizu taking him out into the daylight shattered that fragile balance in his mind. That was his downfall. He could not handle the responsibility of being "special" yet not "special" enough (i.e. the Pharaoh) and it messed his mind up. Enter Marik—who is an escape for Malik so he doesn't have to deal with the responsibility himself. Again, Malik thinks he's special so he's owed something. And he wants what he thinks is the ultimate sign of "special"—the Pharaoh. Hey, he must be…his family's been guarding the guy for three thousand years. He sees that there is someone more important than he is, and he wants to destroy it so there's not threat to his "specialness" anymore.

He never seems to really want to hurt anyone—he just wants to get his way. A sure sign of immaturity. And when he finds that it's not going to happen, he gets more and more dirty in his dealings until we find Joey and Yugi dueling. The way he duels in the semi-finals and finals of Battle City really isn't that bad at all.

We also see that Ishizu still sees him as a good person. He could have killed her with the rod when he stole the god cards, but he didn't. If he was as psycho as he's made out to be, why didn't he kill her? He killed his father—well, Marik did, but still. And, at the end of the tournament, when Marik and Yami duel, Malik learns that he's not the hot sht he thought he was. He's not better than the others, and he humbles himself by forfeiting to Yami. The Malik we see at the end of the tournament is far different from the one we see at the beginning—even from the child Malik.

I think that after a couple of years, he would have settled down in life and come into the daylight's reality and tried to make something of himself just like any other normal teenager does. He's just a young man with a gigantic ego, who finally learns how to grow up from the stunt that the shattering of his fragile tomb-keeper reality gave him, and reenter society as a normal human being.

He and Yugi could learn a lot from each other…

Wow, that was long-winded.

Alright then, thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and that you'll stay tuned for the next chapter.