Tokyo Central Hospital, 7am, Saturday Morning
Katsuya woke up at seven the following morning to the sounds of the low chatter of nurses as they moved between rooms with the morning medication for patients, the hum of the television that he and his sister had been watching till the early hours of the morning as they pretended that they were not nervous about what was to come, and the sounds of the toilet flushing. Looking around revealed that his sister had already woken and gotten up to go to the bathroom, and he stretched as he sat up.
Neither of them had slept amazingly last night, though Katsuya had been able to soothe his sister to sleep long before he had passed out himself. There was just so much riding on this operation, an operation that had a chance, a CHANCE, of saving her eyesight.
If it went right, Shizuka would be able to see properly for the first time ever.
If it went wrong, though…
He was not a fool. He knew there was a risk that his sister could lose her eyesight forever. That everything she had suffered and everything he had done would be completely for naught. Not that he wanted to think about it, but the thoughts had kept coming anyway, preventing him from getting a good night's rest.
His sister paused on her way back to bed, a watery smile on her face. "Hey."
"Hey." He grinned back, needing to be her support now more than ever. "Not long now, huh?"
"I know, right?" Shizuka was trembling slightly, making Jou open his arms, offering a hug. The auburn-haired girl crashed into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"It'll be okay, Imoto," he promised, hoping fate would not make him a liar as he wrapped his arms around her and just acted like the rock she needed him to be right now. "You'll be able to see in no time."
"But what if I can't?" Shizuka's voice shook and her brother felt tears soak into his t-shirt. "What if it doesn't work? What if…"
"Easy. Easy." He rubbed her back, trying to calm her. "If this doesn't work, there's other things we can try."
"Like what?" His little sister sniffed, "We're out of options."
"Nah, I have a friend that can steal souls and put other things in their place. We'll just body snatch you a really nice body." Katsuya was mostly joking, trying to lighten the mood, but it got him swatted by his sister, who let out a half-amused, half-annoyed sob.
"I'm being serious, Katsuya." She huffed, leaning back into him. "This is it. I wish there was a magical solution to this, but no. Surgery it is. Surgery that could…"
She trailed off and he ruffled her hair gently. He had asked Bakura if there was a way the magic of the Items could help and had even offered to do some work in exchange, but there was nothing that she could do. The healing spells that the items could use only restored a body to its natural state, and unfortunately for his sister, Shizuka had been born with the problems with her eyes, so they were a part of her. This operation was her only hope.
"It'll be okay, Imoto. I promise. You'll see again soon. I have so much to show you once your sight's back, you have no idea." He grinned, looking forward to showing her real life Duel Monsters and his space at the Kame Game Shop and all the places in Domino he and his friends liked to hang out.
His sister just nodded, still leaning into him.
"You want to know the worst bit?" she grumbled at him, fingers clenching the t-shirt he had slept in tightly.
"Oh?" Her brother had an idea of where this was going as his stomach gurgled.
"Null by mouth. Twelve hours of null by mouth." Shizuka let out a soft groan as she spoke, her own stomach rumbling in answer. "I'm hungry."
"I promise, I'll bring snacks with me Sunday to make up for it," Katsuya swore, making a note to grab breakfast on his way back to the hotel.
"You're really gonna come back after the party?" His Imoto's tone perked right up. "I know Yugi said she would, but I didn't know what your travel plans were like. I thought you'd go from there back to Domino."
"Nah, we've got tonight in the hotel, I'm guessing, so it doesn't matter if things are running late." Her brother shrugged. "Means we're not leaving Tokyo till tomorrow afternoon. Plenty of time to pop in."
The delighted squeak that elicited from the younger girl made him kind of pleased that he had forgotten to pass on that information until now.
"Hey, Katsuya?" Shizuka asked hesitantly. "When you do get back to Domino, you're not going to forget me, right?"
"What?! Why would I…"
"Because you're getting a family over there. A proper one. Like we never had with Okaasan and Otosan…" Her reply made him pause. He watched her chew her lower lip for a moment before continuing, "Okaasan's never been nice to you, and Otosan… isn't a good person."
"You'll always be my Imoto," Katsuya promised, squeezing her a little before letting go. "Besides, Okaasan has promised to try to be a bit nicer. She even said she'd been a bitch and apologised for it."
There was silence as Shizuka registered that, then, "I… I told her I wanted you here overnight, not her, and she got all upset. I didn't tell her that if she didn't let you visit me, I'd run away to Domino after the operation and come live with you and Mutous. I even had tickets booked in case."
"Imoto… I'm sure Jii-san would have taken you in in a heartbeat," Jou offered, unsure where his sister would have slept but certain room would have been made.
"I just… she stresses me out. She doesn't let me be me. She keeps telling me, 'Oh, you won't be able to do this when you're blind,' and 'You'll need help doing that,' and taking over and doing things for me. It's driving me up the wall. I know she means well and I DO love her, I just… you've always just been you, and you've always helped me be me. There's not been a single time you've seen that I needed help and just taken over from me, you just give me the help I need," the auburn-haired girl blurted out. "I don't want to be a burden, and if she was going to take you away from me, like she's pushed away everyone else and treat me like I'm an incompetent invalid for the rest of my life, I wasn't going to allow it. If that meant running away, so be it."
Katsuya's head snapped towards the door at the sharp intake of breath, and his eyes widened as he saw his mother and her fiance in the doorway.
"Shizuka." The sadness in their mother's tone was offset by the panicked squeak from the girl in question.
Takahara looked at Jou and nodded towards the corridor. The blonde nodded back. "I'll be right back, Shizuka, okay? If you need me, call, but I think you and Okaasan might need some privacy."
"Don't go too far?" When his sister pleaded, Katsuya patted her hand with a smile.
"I'll be right outside," he swore, giving Takahara a look that warned they were not going to go any further than that. The older man just put his hands up and headed out the door.
Once both men were outside the room and the door was mostly shut for privacy, the salaryman turned to Jou. "Sakura told me what she said yesterday."
"So?" the former thug asked, defensive and keeping an ear out for his sister's call.
"I just wanted to make an offer." The man held his hands up, trying to be honest and open. "For when you come to visit your sister. If you want to stay the night, the apartment is open for you. It wouldn't be comfortable-honestly we're cramped as it is-but you're welcome to stay."
"How bad is it?" Katsuya asked, concerned, having heard the horror stories of Tokyo flats.
"We make do. What else can we do for family, right?" The slightly exasperated grin Takahara gave the blonde made Jou chuckle and run a hand through his hair, thinking about the reshuffling that had needed to be done at the Kame Game Shop in order to fit him in and the mess that was currently Yugi's bedroom.
The sounds of raised voices within the room made both men pause and turn towards the sound.
The door opened and Kawai Sakura stalked out, nearly bumping into her son as she rushed past. Katsuya did not get a good look at her, but he was pretty sure she was crying. Not that it mattered to him, not right now. He shot back into the bedroom to find Shizuka sniffling and angry.
"Imoto?" When his question just resulted in her holding out her arms for him, he wrapped her in a tight cuddle.
"I'm tired," Shizuka mumbled, sounding upset, a little disappointed, and out of breath, too wound up to offer more without pressing.
"Then sleep, Imoto." Katsuya ruffled her hair, not asking her what had upset her so much when he needed to keep being civil around his mother and not upset his sister any further. "You need your strength for later."
The twelve-year-old, who had been through so much more than anyone her age should have been, only responded by curling up tightly in his arms, resting her head against his chest, and slipping into a tired doze.
Hotel Gajoen Tokyo, 7:30am
Yugi checked her phone first thing when the alarm went off and grinned slightly to see texts from Anzu and Mai, telling her to 'knock 'em dead' at the press event later. She fired off thank yous to the two girls and the room number and floor in a text to Jonouchi before pulling on clothes and heading down to breakfast, dropping off his room key behind the desk for him to pick up on his return.
She managed to find space in the breakfast buffet and got herself a small plate before settling down at a table, not entirely awake yet as she sipped her tea. The Spirit of the Puzzle slipped into control as they ate, enjoying the chance to people watch as groups came in and out, people stopped to admire their surroundings, and the freshly cooked food from the buffet drove guests to the bar in droves.
She was nearly finished when she sensed Shadows enter the room. Immediately on high alert after what had happened on both Wednesday and Thursday evening, she tried to scan those coming in, only for her eyes to rest on a pair that were not dressed that differently from how Shadi had been garbed. The brown-eyed, black-haired man was in a white robe-like garment with a red-and-white checked headscarf, held down by a golden band, while the woman, whose black dress covered most of her, had knowing green eyes and brown hair that was mostly hidden by her own black head scarf. It was the woman whom she could sense the Shadows from.
Meisa's red eyes caught the woman's green ones, and the woman's eyes widened. She tugged on the man's sleeve and pointed out the Queen of Games, who watched them warily as they moved around the room to the buffet bar and then headed in the Pharaoh's direction.
'Guess we're not escaping magic that easily, huh?' The spirit of the Puzzle felt her twin's mix of irritation and wariness.
'We could leave,' the Pharaoh suggested, gathering up her phone, which had yet to ring, suggesting Katsuya was still with Shizuka, and making sure she had her deck on her.
Before Yugi could answer, the pair sat down at her table and half-bowed to her, allowing Meisa to catch a glimpse of a certain golden artifact around the woman's neck as her dress shifted with the movement.
'Anesan! The Necklace! She has the Necklace.' Excitement coursed through both of them at the sight of it. They needed access to its powers to get answers and despite their wariness of a new item holder, considering their past track record, here it was. Right in front of them.
"Excuse me." The man watched her, his expression respectful and his accent the same as Marik's. "You're Mutou Yugi, yes?"
"That's me." Meisa agreed, which was not technically a lie since she was tied to her twin's Ren, making that her name more than any other bar her past one. "Can I help you?"
"It's how we might be able to help you." The woman's voice was soft and comforting, which was a surprise to the Spirit of the Puzzle, who was used to dealing with anger or vindictiveness from other item holders. "May we talk?"
The Pharaoh pursed her lips and glanced around. "Not here. It's too public to be discussing magic."
"Of course, our apologies. There is a lot to tell you and not much time." The man looked a little embarrassed.
"And who are you two?" the Pharaoh asked. "You appear to have me at a disadvantage."
"My name is Karim, and this is my wife, Azra, my Pharaoh," the man responded respectfully. "Might we come to your room after breakfast?"
"No." The Pharaoh refused to give them knowledge of where they were sleeping. "But I would be willing to meet with you in the gardens at ten."
Yugi quickly did a calculation and sighed as she realized it would only give her an hour and a half to get ready, and she would have to hope Katsuya was back from the hospital by then. Meisa on the other hand was more interested in why Karim looked irritated at her refusal. She did note, however, that Azra's hand on his arm kept him quiet as the woman nodded. "Thank you, my Pharaoh."
The Spirit of the Puzzle moved to get to her feet, aware they needed to get ready quickly if they were going to meet with the Tomb Keepers before the photoshoot at eleven and silently cussing themselves for ever agreeing to this whole publicity thing.
"My Pharaoh…" Karim hesitated.
"Yes?" She turned her sharp gaze on him, daring him to try something.
"Thank you for being willing to talk to us."
"I have questions that need answers. I've been advised that the best way to get them is through the Millennium Necklace, that is all." She huffed. "Please excuse me if I don't trust you yet. My previous run-ins with your tribe have left me rather distrustful."
"You've run into the Ishtars." Azra winced.
"And Shadi. Both were less than friendly. I won't let my guard down again," she warned.
"Understandable." Karim nodded, suddenly worried. "I promise you, my Pharaoh. No harm will come to you from us. Things are too desperate for us to take that risk."
"I'll be in the gardens at ten o'clock." She nodded, not sure what they meant by that and not liking the sound of it. "You can explain it then."
With that she left, troubled by their words but not willing to have a conversation about ancient magic and her past in the dining room where anyone could hear it.
'Anesan? Are you sure this is a good idea?' her Imoto asked, wary herself and not wanting to be battered and bruised when they had the photos taken, should these Tomb Keepers prove as dangerous as some of the others.
'We need answers and they have the Necklace. Plus they knew who we are, which means they're probably stalking us just like the Ishtars. Better to cut them off now than risk them causing havoc later.' The Pharaoh mentally shrugged.
'If you're sure.' She could sense her twin's uncertainty but there was not much other option. Bakura had told them that the Necklace would help solve the mysteries of what happened in Egypt, so they needed to make allies of its Bearer.
'It'll be okay, Imoto, I promise. Let's go get changed.'
Tokyo Central Hospital, 8:50am
"I promise, Shizuka, the moment I get the message that you're awake, I'll ring, okay?" he said as his frightened sister was about to be wheeled from the room.
"You b…better." And then she was gone.
Once the sounds of the bed rolling away left their earshot, Katsuya wheeled around to glare at his mother. "What did you say to her?"
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked defensively, picking up the odd pieces of clothing that had been revealed when the bed had been wheeled from the room.
"When you two were alone. What did you say? You made her cry!" He snapped out, only to suddenly realise he needed to clamp down on his anger as he felt the Shadows rising.
Considering the dragon that had appeared the last two times he had lost it, he needed to keep his cool.
"I made her cry!? She made me cry! I have done everything, everything! For her! I've done my best to look after her!" Kawai snapped back, at the end of her tether and taking it out on the young man in front of her. "And she wants to run away?!"
"Sakura…" Takahara started.
"No. No, stay out of this," the woman snapped. "I've had enough. I've tried and I've tried, but apparently I'm still not good enough for her."
"That's not what it is," Katsuya hissed out. "That's not what it is at all. She feels smothered. You don't let her be her. You take over things and won't let her…"
"Don't lecture me!" Sakura snapped out. "You're not there. You've never been there. You don't see when she stumbles because something is on the floor that shouldn't be and she can't see it. You haven't been there when she's cut herself because she's missed the handle of the knife. You haven't had to help her learn braille or adapt your house to ensure she was safe or…"
"No, I haven't, and do you know whose fault that is?! NOT MINE!" Katsuya's roar silenced his mother as her words dug in painfully. "I didn't choose to be left behind! I tried to run away to be with you both! You're the one who refused to let me stay! You're the one who kept kicking me out when I travelled hours and hours to see Shizuka! Don't you dare imply I wouldn't have done everything you did! If I'd been allowed to be in her life I could have helped! I could have been there to ease the pressure! But no. You. Kept. Me. Out."
His hands balled into fists so tightly his nails cut into his palms, making him pause and take a deep breath. When he looked over at his mother he could see she was trembling. Her expression told him something that hurt. She was afraid of him.
Even after everything she had said yesterday, she was still afraid of him. Even though he had never, ever lifted a hand against his family.
"I don't want to steal Shizuka. I want her to be happy." Jonouchi's shoulders sank. "She can't be happy if you don't let her be her. What are you going to do if this operation doesn't work? Lock her in the house forever? Baby her until she goes nuts? She's her own person, and there's lots she can do. Treating her like she's made of glass and can't do anything for herself is going to drive her away."
Sakura did not respond for a moment. Then she looked down at the floor. "I've been so afraid of losing her, like I lost you. I've been trying to protect her, but I've been smothering her too much, haven't I?"
Katsuya shrugged. "She feels so, and that's kinda who matters. Not me, not you, not how much we're screwed up individuals cause of Otosan. Shizuka's the one who matters. We both need to try better, be better, for her."
When Sakura just nodded, accepting his point, the dragon duelist turned to Takahara with a rueful smile. "Can you keep me updated? Please? I need to get back to the event or I'm gunna get Yuge in trouble."
"Of course, Jonouchi-kun," Takahara promised. "You'll be the first to know when she wakes up. Will you be able to get back here tonight?"
"Not sure, but I'll definitely give her a ring," Katsuya swore.
"Good. She'll pout otherwise." The joking tone of voice offset the words and made Jou snicker.
"Katsuya?" His mother's wavering tone made the teen look over with a frown. "I hope your publicity thing goes well. We'll probably stay till visiting hours are over and then be back tomorrow afternoon, so if we don't see you tonight, have a safe trip home."
"Thanks." He sighed, running a hand through his hair at his Okaasan's attempt to be nice. "Be safe? Tokyo's roads look nuts."
"We will, don't worry."
He could not honestly say he would be worried about his mother as he left to head back to the Hotel Gajoen Tokyo and the friend who was probably wondering where he was by now.
But he wished he could.
Hotel Gajoen Tokyo, 9:40am
'How did Mai get it to behave?!' Yugi grumbled as she sat in front of the huge mirror in the bathroom trying to get her hair pinned up the same way Mai had done it, silently cussing the fact that while she had practised the make up until she could get it right, meaning that had been easy to apply, she had not thought to do the same with her hair.
'Sorry, I would offer to just cast an illusion for you, but it might not show up on camera.' Meisa, who was sat on the side of the bath and, most likely, would only be out for the discussion with the Tomb Keepers and the duel later, gave her a sheepish smile.
'I know, I know, I just want to get this in place before I get into the kimono. It's a lot harder to move when…'
A knock on the door made her trail off, slightly wary after their earlier encounter, only for Katsuya's voice to call through. "Yuge? You in here?"
"Bathroom, Katsuya," she replied before suddenly remembering that she was wearing her underwear and very little else, having not wanted to be fighting to get a t-shirt over her head once she had sorted her hair and make-up out.
"Sorry, I would have been here sooner, but…" She had just enough time to grab one of the larger towels and wrap it around herself before her friend walked in, saw that she was not properly dressed, and turned around quickly, blushing. "Sorry, sorry."
"It's okay. What time is it? Did Shizuka get into surgery okay?" Yugi sighed, adjusting the towel so it was more secure and going back to trying to get the darn bun to behave.
"Nearly twenty to ten," the Dragon Duelist informed the Queen of Games, shifting so he could not see the reflection of his friend in the door's mirror. "And yes, she went fine. I promised I'd ring the moment I knew she was awake."
"That's good." The Magician Duelist smiled briefly before her hair came loose again and tumbled over her shoulder. "Oh damnit!"
"Yuge?" Katsuya could not help but glance over his shoulder. "You need help?"
"How good are you at hair?" Yugi huffed, frustration overcoming any embarrassment.
"A little out of practise, but you want that bun Mai did, right?" Jou asked, coming over and untangling the mess of clips and pins that were hanging all over the place.
"Please? And thank you?" Yugi blushed, embarrassed. She was a girl, she was supposed to be good at these things, but here she was, needing help once again.
'To be fair, Imoto, it's not like we normally bother with this sort of thing,' the Spirit of the Puzzle offered. 'There's too much else to do.'
'You're not wrong.' Yugi leaned back into the chair and smiled ruefully at Jou using the mirror. "Sorry. I'm hopeless."
"Not hopeless, just out of practise," her friend disagreed as he worked. "I haven't done long hair since Shizuka moved out, but I'll give it a shot."
The Queen of Games sighed and closed her eyes. "Sorry… I have to be in the gardens by ten and I was getting frustrated."
"Ten? I thought the shoot was at eleven?" The confusion in her friend's voice was clear. "Damn, sorry, I'd have waited to yell at Okaasan if I'd known…"
"No, no, it's something else... Wait, yell? What did she do this time?" Concern flooded through her tone as she opened her eyes to look at her friend's reflected expression.
Anger, hurt, and frustration were clear on his face as he focused on her hair. "Last thing she should be doing is stressing Shizuka out today, you know?"
"I could Challenge her for you." The sudden switch between Yugi and Meisa startled Katsuya, who accidently stabbed a pin into her hair a little too hard, catching the scalp and causing the Pharaoh to yelp.
"Sorry, sorry," Katsuya squeaked, half afraid that he was going to get hexed or something, even though he consciously knew she would not hurt her friends willingly. When the Spirit of the Puzzle just shrugged, understanding that she had just made him jump, he relaxed a little. "Thanks, but if you sent her nuts, we'd have to worry about custody battles for Shizuka. We don't want her ending up with Otosan."
"If she doesn't cheat, she won't go nuts," Meisa pointed out with a slight huff, "but the offer still stands."
"It's appreciated." The Dragon Duelist was being honest about that as he adjusted the red tips of her hair around the bun holding the rest. "No, I get why she was upset. She might not give a damn about me most of the time, but she's given everything for Shizuka. Hearing her say 'I'm tired of being smothered' and threatening to run away if Okaasan keeps it up would have been hard on her."
Meisa grimaced and retreated, letting the more social one of the pair of them take over. "Okay, yeah, I can see it. Still, she could have held her tongue today. Shizuka was probably venting because of the stress."
"Yeah. But Okaasan upset her before she went down for the op, so I bit and then she bit and… urg." He groaned, backing off to examine his handiwork. "There you go, Yuge."
Yugi tilted her head and grinned when the bun stayed in place. "Perfect, thanks."
"So why's the schedule moved up an hour?" Katsuya asked, pausing to consider the way Yugi's face lit up when she smiled and how even wrapped in a towel, she looked pretty, before shaking his head and heading for the rest of the suite to get changed himself.
"There are Tomb Keepers here. They want to meet with Anesan," Yugi shared as she reached around the door to grasp her kimono from the hanger by the door.
"You're kidding me," Katsuya grumbled as she heard him unzip the suit bag she had hung up for him yesterday.
"I wish. We ran into them at breakfast." Yugi slipped into her kimono and fastened the front with a grimace. "They wanted to talk, and we weren't about to discuss Item stuff in the middle of a packed restaurant."
"Makes sense." The former gang member huffed as he pulled out his crisp, brand-new black suit jacket and trousers, along with a white shirt and dark grey waistcoat. Fishing the red tie, which had dragons embroidered on it in a metallic black thread, out of the bottom of the bag, he grinned slightly, looking forward to surprising Yugi with the get up. "I'm coming with you, you realise?"
"I'm not even going to bother trying to keep you away at this point." The partly-amused, partly-frustrated huff his question elicited amused the blonde as he pulled everything on. "I would be trying to put it off, but the woman, Azra, has the Millennium Necklace. If we can befriend her, she might be able to give us answers for some of the questions we have about Egypt. They swore they weren't going to hurt us, but…"
"They're Tomb Keepers, and so far we've had exactly zero luck with that tribe." Katsuya agreed with their wariness. "Between Shadi trying to kill you and Ishizu's blow up…"
"Marik isn't so bad… except for the lying… but yeah…" Yugi paused as she tried to fasten the obi and beaded belt. "Katsuya? Can I get a hand?"
"One sec." He finished tying his tie and then called, "Ready."
Once again his breath was blown away by the sight of his friend all dressed up, but he was pleased to see that she too blushed when she saw him.
"You clean up well." It was part tease and part compliment as she walked over to him, looking him up and down, still blushing lightly as she turned around to let him access the back of her outfit.
"Heh, our classmates won't recognise us when they see the photos." He chuckled as he fastened everything up for her. "I mean, you look amazing, too."
"Th… thanks," the Queen of Games stammered slightly, not entirely looking forward to the photoshoot and honestly just wanting it to hurry up so she could get to the dueling part and relax.
Speaking of the dueling part…
'Are you fighting Kaiba, or am I?' Yugi pressed her twin, who paused to consider.
'Would you mind if I took a shot? I want to beat him without Exodia,' the Pharaoh asked hopefully.
'Go ahead and have fun.' The Puzzle Bearer mentally grinned at her Anesan. 'Sorry I stole your thunder at Duelist Kingdom.'
'It's fine. Do you want me to do the publicity bit, too? I know you don't actually enjoy too much attention,' The Pharaoh offered.
'Neither do you,' Yugi pointed out, 'so I wasn't going to ask.'
'No, but I'm better at hiding it than you are,' the Spirit of the Puzzle reminded her light-souled sister. 'I can handle it if you don't want to.'
'Can we take a rain check on that? You might not be up for it once we talk to the Tomb Keepers.' The Queen of Games sighed, not really wanting to do the interviews and things, but also remembering the comments about her needing to decide how she wanted to appear to the world and her being a role model to young female Duelists.
'If you need me, I'm here. I'll…' The Pharaoh trailed off with a mental wince, unable to say what she wanted to say.
'Anesan?' Yugi asked softly, noting that Katsuya had stopped and was watching her.
'It's nothing, Imoto. I'm here if you need me, that's all.' The Pharaoh retreated a little, gathering her thoughts as her twin went to slip her deck holster, wallet, and room key into her kimono belt, only for Jou to offer to carry her satchel for her, so she did not have to put up with them poking into her side.
Meisa wanted to promise that she would always be there. That when her twin needed her, she would always be around to back her up.
But it was not true. If she was ever to fulfil the fate she had forged for herself, deliver on her promise to Bakura, and free the Tomb Keepers from their long vigil, she was going to have to move on.
It did not matter what she wanted. Nor that she was enjoying her life now, even if some things were inconvenient. That she had friends and family that she knew, remembered, and liked was worth nothing. That they were willing to work around her limitations was pointless.
Because one day, her duty would force her to leave for the afterlife and throw everything she had now away.
It might not be so bad. She had to have had friends she liked and family who loved her in her past life. They were probably waiting for her on the other side. She certainly expected that her brother would be there waiting. She just did not know them yet, so she could not miss them. Nor could her emotions regarding them affect her judgements.
Still, as Katsuya shouldered the bag and offered her twin his arm, the truth of the matter was that she did not want to leave, no matter what her duty said she had to do.
Yugi, who could feel and hear her twin's thoughts and feelings like they were her own, since there could be no secrets between them, felt a mingled combination of happiness and sadness as she put her hand on Katsuya's arm.
"Let's go."