Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own it, blah blah blah.

Author Note: Drat this gets harder each chapter, I have to make sure it is as close to perfect as possible or a certain reviewer pops up and catches me! Ha ha, I don't mind striving to be my best. So here are a few things about this chapter. I don't mean to sound odd, but please don't think that Yugi is out of character! I pride myself with watching each and every episode of YGO that I can, so I do know a thing or two. True, Yugi is normally a bubbly happy little guy, but there are also times when he is serious and down to earth. (His duel against a Marik-controlled Jou, for example, or the soul deul he has with Yami after the Orikalkos (sp?) takes his soul.) Ok, now that I am done justifying myself (oop) read on.


"Did you, Anzu?" The small sound f Yugi's voice called the girl out of her memories. She looked down at him, his wide eyes hopeful. "Did you give him the pictures?"

Anzu shook her head, not in disagreement, but in disbelief, and opened the door wide. "Come inside, Yugi. It's freezing outside, and you aren't even wearing a coat." He reluctantly followed her in, shuffling his feet awkwardly on the welcome mat. She ushered him down and into her bedroom, looking around nervously, worried that her parents would wake up. Gently, she closed the door, and leaned against it.

"Sit down, Yugi." She motioned to the bed, and he tried to get as far away from the pink comforter as possible while still taking a seat on it. She sat on the other end, watching him worriedly. The teen girl knew that this was not going to be easy. "So…" she trailed off, unsure of where to start.

He licked his lips, and kept his eyes on his legs. "I…I know that the pharaoh must have come to you, Anzu. I was looking around my room, and I found a black photo album." He swallowed hard. The truth might be hard to accept, but he had to know; to know if his yami had betrayed him. "I know it was from you, but…I don't remember you giving it to him."

Her hands were clenched so tight that her nails dug into her palms. She could say nothing to her friend; only sit there in shame, her eyes downcast.

Yugi looked up, his voice almost cracking as he spoke. "Aren't you my friend, Anzu? I thought you were." The boy looked away, and said in an almost-whisper. "I thought you wouldn't lie to me. I thought that the pharaoh wouldn't, either."

To her annoyance, her eyes became blurry with tears. "Of course I'm your friend, Yugi!" Anzu knew she could not look at his face. If she did, she would have to accept that whatever hurt he was feeling was her fault. "I didn't want it to be like this. I never wanted to get between you and the pharaoh. But, when he came here, he asked me not to tell you. I thought it would be fine, but now I know that that was wrong; so terribly wrong." When did I become so selfish? Anzu thought bitterly, a tear dripping onto her leg. How could I have lied to my best friend just so I could get close to the pharaoh?

"That makes no sense, Anzu," Yugi burst out, making her look up sharply into his crushed face. "The only time you can see Yami is if he's in my body. He couldn't hide from me while he did that!" the boy thought of the time he had helped his other self go on a date with Anzu, and he felt his cheeks warm. "I mean, I don't intrude or anything, I don't poke my nose around if he is doing something. But, I'm still there, I am still aware of what he does, just like he knows what I do as long as I wear the puzzle." That's why we were partners. Yugi thought.

Her expression was pained as she wiped her tear away with a shaky hand. She had to face Yugi and tell him the truth like he deserved. "I didn't think it was right, but he was worried. He told me that he came while you were sleeping in your soul room or something. I'm not going to pretend I know what that means, but…it sounded wrong."

Yugi sat on the bed, but the roaring in his ears made him deaf to anything else Anzu said. He put my consciousness in my soul room and walked away with my body while I was sleeping? He was shaking, and there was something wrong with his heart; it was pounding painfully in his chest. How could Yami do that to me? I thought he was different—after the duel with Kaiba, when he pushed it too far—I forgave him, and I was sure he had changed. He told me he would never do that…never again.

"Yugi, say something." She reached to touch his bare shoulder, but he recoiled from her hand as if burned. His shook his had from side to side in disbelief. She sat back, hurt by his rejection, but bitterly understanding why.

"He came here." He muttered, his eyes distant, his mind whirling out of control. "He came in my body." His tone was desperate, and he turned to stare at Anzu, his eyes pained. "Why? What did he want to hide from me?"

"I don't know, Yugi. He just asked me not to tell you, and I felt terrible about it. He said that he might have to go back to the spirit realm soon, and he asked me for a place to keep his memories of us safe." She wanted Yugi to understand, how this was important to the pharaoh. "I gave him the album, and then he left. It didn't feel right for him to do that to you, but…" she trailed off, any excuse she could say would fall short. I'm sorry Yugi; I didn't mean to betray your trust in me.

Yugi stood up stiffly, his bangs hiding his eyes. Anzu noticed with alarm that his knuckles were bone white from clenching his fists. She had never seen him so rigid before, and his posture was defensive. Anzu realized that Yugi was not just annoyed; he was angry! She had only ever seen him like this once before, during his duel with the pharaoh in the valley of the lost souls. She watched helplessly as the boy walked to the door, and stopped suddenly as he passed by one of the pictures that was taped to Anzu's wall.

She had a whole collection of loose photos taped haphazardly to the tacky wallpaper. Some were of her parents, while others were of her friends. The one that had caught the teen's eye was the one of himself, smiling and blushing awkwardly. Again, one element of the picture caught his attention—the fact that Yami was there as plain as day. The spirit was standing, hands folded behind him as he looked out the window, the sun glancing across his crimson eyes, looking for the world, completely real.

Viciously, Yugi ripped the picture off the wall, and shoved it at Anzu. She looked at it for a moment, and then looked at Yugi, her eyes puzzled. He winced—an expression that did not belong on his innocent face. "You don't see him, do you?" he pointed at the picture. "You just see me." Just like always. Only I can see him. The boy felt his lower lip tremble. He had promised himself that he wouldn't cry in front of her…

She held the picture loosely in her hands, and remembered that the pharaoh had seen something else in this picture as well. She scanned it, but no matter how hard or long she looked at it, the picture only showed her Yugi's face, her widow in the background. She laughed lightly to ease the tension, he had always been so willing to turn things into a joke, but he did not respond at all. She knew then that this would not blow over with a simple smile and a slap on the back like so many other times. "I'm sorry, Yugi. What do you—"

He turned sharply, and stalked out of the room, his mind buzzing. He paused at the doorway to her room silently. Anzu's smile faded as she was struck by how much he looked like the spirit had that day; so lost and pained. But Yugi neither turned, nor spoke, just sniffed once—hard—and left.


Hey there. Feel free to review with your own thoughts, whatever they may be. I love to read them, and usually I will write you back if you have a question for me, so don't be shy! Until next time...thanks for reading!