o.O Whoa...second-to-last chapter. I never thought I'd finish this fic.

Return of an Angel

A bright, blinding light fled across the sky, streaking towards the city below. It knew where to go—and, fueled by desperate prayers, it went. It lit the streets like a floodlight as it drew closer, zigzagging along the streets.

Mokuba's shooting star--was coming to Earth.

It sped around one final corner, bounced upward, and slid through a closed window. The light diffused, revealing a small figure dressed in white. He was barefooted, and his pale skin glowed with an ethereal light. Slowly he approached the bed, his feet making no noise on the carpeted floor.

The teen in the bed was tossing and turning, muttering unintelligibly to himself. The figure saw he was having a horrible nightmare. He reached out, hesitated, and then gently tapped the sleeper on the arm.

"Yami…?"

"NO! Stay away from me!"

Yami recoiled, staring at Yugi with shock on his face. "But—Yugi—"

Yugi snarled at him. "I won't let you get me! Yami taught me how to take care of myself!"

Tears were pouring openly down Yami's cheeks. "You've got to believe me, Yugi! I am Yami!"

Yugi fiercely shook his head. "No, you aren't! Yami may be dark, too—but you're just evil!"

"No, Yugi," Yami whispered. "I'm not evil…you proved that to me. Don't you remember?"

Yugi just continued to back away, face set in an expression of fierce determination. "You can't make me come with you!"

Yami closed his eyes. "Go your own way, then. I give up." His eyes flew open. "DO YOU HEAR ME?" he hollered at Yugi. "I GIVE UP!"

Yami snapped back to reality, sitting bolt upright in bed. Tears were still coursing down his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around his legs, and sat there with his knees tucked under his chin, shivering.

"I give up," he said out loud, his voice a broken sob. "I give up. I can't do this any longer." He turned his darkened eyes up to the ceiling. "I just can't stand it…"

He closed his eyes. "I want to die," he whispered haltingly. "Please…just let me die. I…I want to be with my aibou…" He closed his eyes, feeling the tears that still streamed from the corners of his eyes. "Even if I am the one that killed him…"

Out of nowhere, a voice reached his ears. "Don't say that…"

Startled, Yami opened his eyes—and was blinded by a pure white light. He tried to shield his eyes with his hand, but the light reached them through it, pounding through his lids, etching fire across his retinas…

The light dimmed just enough for Yami to be able to open his eyes and look directly at the figure. A calm sort of radiance still rippled across the person's form, obscuring him from view, but Yami could tell that he was small—maybe no more than a child.

And his voice was hauntingly familiar…

"Why shouldn't I?" Yami asked him softly. "I may not have been the one to do it, but I'm the reason he's gone. If you've come to take me away from this place, then do it now—if I remain here too much longer without my hikari, I'll kill myself and be done with it…"

An impossibly small, impossibly light body flung itself onto his lap, knocking him backwards a little. "Aren't you listening to me? Stop doing this! It's not your fault—none of it is!" The voice sounded about to cry.

Yami blinked. His eyes widened, and he gasped, realization dawning on his face.

"Yugi?" he breathed, hardly daring to believe it.

The shimmering radiance faded, replaced by Yugi's all-too-familiar form. He was wearing a white robe, and his skin glowed with an inner light. The tears that raced down his cheeks looked like rivulets of pure, clear crystal.

"Yami—I'm so sorry!" he sobbed, clutching at the front of the pharaoh's short. "I—I thought you were doing it on purpose—and I was so lonely without you—I was so selfish—I didn't know—I didn't even think—and now I made you want to die—" His babble collapsed into heaving sobs as he burrowed his head in Yami's shoulder.

Yami sat as still as possible, carefully draping his arms around Yugi's shoulders. He nearly laughed out loud, realizing he was afraid that his delicate little hikari would crumble into dust in his arms.

"Yugi," he whispered.

Yugi sniffled a little, and looked up at Yami. "Y-Yes?"

For the first time since the night of the suicide, Yami smiled a smile that wasn't full of bitterness and grief. Reaching out with his mind, he severed the magic that was keeping his eyes black—they immediately lightened into their original bright crimson. Tears once more coursing down his cheeks—but this time, they were tears of joy. "I thought you hated me…"

Yugi shook his head. "I…I was being so selfish…all I cared about was that you and I couldn't be together… Can you forgive me, Yami?"

Yami smiled again, and hugged Yugi tightly. "Of course I can, Yugi."

Suddenly, Yami heard footsteps on the stairs. He jumped to his feet, startled, tumbling Yugi off his lap onto the bed. "You need to go," he said urgently. "It's Kaiba!"

Yugi shook his head, crossing his arms defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere. I can take Kaiba. Besides…" He looked up at Yami, and the pharaoh could sense the pure, honest truth in those amethyst eyes. "I don't want to leave you again. Look at what happened to you."

There was a soft rap on the door. "Yami…are you in there?"

Yami stiffened as some of the anger from the other day filled him. It was Tea.

Yugi patted his hand. "It's going to be okay, Yami. You'll see."

Slowly, reluctantly, Yami stood up and moved over to the door. He twisted the knob, and pulled it open a little.

Tea looked as if she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there were streaks of water along her cheeks. "Yami—" She choked off whatever she was about to say, and began to cry again, covering her face with her hands.

I've caused so much more pain than I healed, Yami thought numbly, stepping soundlessly out into the hall. And even those wounds weren't healed—only numbed to the point of tolerability.

He draped his arms around her shoulders, his expression grave. "Tea…I'm sorry. I was being stupid."

Startled, Tea looked up at him. He saw the amazement in her sapphire eyes—watched it fade into pure joy. "Yami!"

Yami grinned. "Yep. I'm back."

In the background, Yugi laughed. "I told you it'd turn out all right!"

Poor Tea nearly jumped out of her skin. She pushed Yami aside, ran into the room—and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Yugi?"

Yami grinned wryly, closing the door behind him. "That's what I said."

Yugi peace-signed at her, beaming brightly. "I'm back, too—but only the people I want to see me can see me."

Tea smiled in relief. "As long as you're back with us, King of Games."

Yugi rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Stop calling me that!"

The whole house echoed with the sound of their laughter.

After a long while, Tea looked at the clock on the wall. "I'd better go—it's really late."

Yami nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

Tea looked at Yugi. "Should I tell—?"

Yugi shook his head. "You have to let them find out in their own time."

Tea nodded. "All right. See you tomorrow—both of you." She smiled brightly, and exited the room.

Yugi grinned impishly at Yami. "Told you!"

Yami laughed—and was cut off by a loud yawn. "Uh…I need some sleep."

Yugi nodded. "So do I."

Yami blinked. "Angels need sleep?"

He instantly regretted asking—Yugi collapsed into laughter so hard that he fell off the bed.

I never thought I'd hear the sound of him laughing ever again…

Yugi was saying something. "Hunh? What?"

Yugi tapped him on the nose. "Daydreamer. What I said was that I'm not an angel—if I did, I'd have wings. I was meant to come back to Earth."

Yami smiled. "So I see."

A thought struck him. "Can you transform?"

Yugi nodded. "Into just about anything—including other people."

Yami grinned. "Good. We'll have some fun tomorrow."

Yugi crossed his arms. "Not until you fix your hair, we won't. That black looks horrible."

Yami yawned again. "Right now, I'm going to sleep. Good night, aibou."

"G'night, 'nii-san."

Yami started awake again. "What?"

But Yugi, in his usual manner, had gone right to sleep.

'Nii-san…he called me his brother.

Yami smiled a little, lying back down. Thank you, Ra, or whoever is out there—thank you for bringing my little tenshi back.

Thank you…

Uh...no comments for right now, really. Review, please?