「This is the story of a boy who was cursed to see in brown monochrome」

Yugi flipped the page; there, he was met with a beautifully illustrated drawing of a young boy facing away from the page, back turned and looking out to the brilliant view beyond. Brushing his finger over it, Yugi could tell it was hand drawn. The divots from where the pencil had scratched and the voids where pen had marked. He could feel all the love and care that went into it.

He read again.

' Eiichi was beginning to become bored of sitting under the shelter he had made. The array of little twigs and logs built up to create a small, homely paradise under the tree he had claimed as his own. However, he knew that one day he would have to leave and be free.

It had come to him, one summer's day, that he was not inherently normal. Unlike most others, see, he could only see things in a brown hue.'

Yugi took a gentle breath. He noticed that the drawing on the page next to it seemed normal. Unlike everything else around him, all of the greys were coherent and correct-feeling. The boy kept reading as it delved deep into amazing adventures and expeditions and an enthralling story of a boy learning to survive in the conditions he had to live in. The main character, Eiichi, had a friend called Mao. Yugi liked her character very much as it reminded him of Anzu.

' "Mao! Mao! Please! Wake up!!" Eiichi cried, holding onto the unconscious soul as her chest breathed rhythmically. People soon surrounded her, watching as she slowly stopped moving. Eiichi had already known she would stop eventually, but not so soon.

Even if he had predicted such an accident, he did not think it would actually happen.

"She's gone…" '

Yugi dropped the book.

"Wasn't this meant to be a really young kids book?" he whispered to himself, closing up the book, "It's very...different..."

Yugi hadn't expected there to be a death so awful in a book directed at such young, vulnerable children. He placed it onto his desk and began to curl up in his bed. The warm covers radiated heat and safety. Calm, Yugi mumbled, "I'll ask Anzu in the morning.."

And, somehow, he managed to fall asleep yet again.

"I don't know"

Was her response to his questioning in the morning. Though, she seemed hesitant, almost as if she knew something. Pressing further, she finally said,

"Well… Atemu always wrote weird things. Mainly about teaching the village kids how to survive and stuff."

She quietly seated herself onto the nearby bench. At the time, she was on break from school. Yugi looked to her left, seeing Yami curled up on the bench glaring at the two as they conversed about Atemu.

" Why does Yami hate him so much?"

Yugi whispered in the girl's ear, hoping she didn't feel his face heat up as she drew closer.

Just as she went to explain, Yami stood up and stared them both down, "He left, that bastard…"

Cocking his head to the side, Yugi had to watch as the boy stormed off stroppily. Yami shot another angry glare in their direction, making Yugi jump a little. A sigh from the girl next to him signified the end of the conversation.

He spent weeks in the dark on the topic, simply idle wondering over what exactly happened. However, he didn't know where this sudden curiosity came from, it felt so new and sudden, like a wave crashing over him.

He soon felt that it wasn't the best thing to dwell on. Understandably, it was a sensitive topic for his friends and he didn't want to inconvenience them in any way that'd make them upset.

Stretching his legs, he decided it was best to go for a small walk to take his mind off the whole 'アテム' situation. Yugi fought back his urge to figure out all of his curiosities and questions and instead allowed the walk to be a moment of peace for him. The long pathways lead to the small houses that lined each street of the equally miniscule town. Little birds sang and begged the coming of a new season.

Snatch!

The boy felt himself being dragged into a nearby alley. His hood wrapped around his neck and choked him as they pulled, dropping him violently on the stone grounds and musing as he struggled to stand up under the weight of a rough, leather boot.

"You're a worm, getting us in trouble like dat..!"

A familiar voice yelled, pushing their foot into his back as well. It felt like he was being crushed as each person in the group hurled insults at him and kicked him lower and lower into the ground. The boy pushed himself not to cry or scream, that'd only encourage them.

"Go back to your place in hell, demon!!"

The youngest of the bunch whacked him on the head with some sort of stick, the pain made his vision hazy and he couldn't fully identify what.

One told a joke, the others laughed. The largest man, Ushio, kicked his boot under his stomach and rolled him over. Hands still in pockets, he kicked his chest repeatedly until no air was left.

Passing out will cause more problems.

That was the thought rushing through Yugi's mind as he gasped for air and tried to find a way to escape.

Either he ran, or he took it until he became boring.

It felt like years.

Years of being beaten up, thrown about, scratched, bruised and destroyed. Soon, he was pushed up against the wall and was forced to observe the gang as they left causally - it was if nothing happened.

It took ages for someone to find him, only half-conscious as he struggled to stand up, getting ready to give up.

"Yugi!! What happened?!"

Yugi couldn't speak, he stumbled over and felt a sting of pain as the person caught him. He looked up, the girl giving a small smile, "Are you okay?? What happened??"

He still didn't speak. He weakly closed his eyes.

"Those bastards..! Did they..?"

Yugi simply shook his head, he was helped standby Anzu, who slowly walked him away from the alley and into his home, which was only a few minutes away from the winding pathways of the town.

Everything felt so cold,that night.

The paths looked as dark as the sky, tainted by a dark blanket of fog that made everything seem like a blurry illusion. Crows cawed loudly from the rooftops of people's homes and shops, calling to him. It felt like an empty void had swallowed him whole and he felt like he was just being a lost, annoying bother. He stared emptily at the view from his window as Anzu kindly treated him with a mix of some bizzare spray and temporary bandaging that his Grandfather kept in the home for emergency reasons.

"Come on, Yugi, talk to me…!" Anzu insisted, obviously upset by the boy's long silence he gave as he stared away from her, "I promise, we will find them brats again and make them pay a larger price. "

The boy closed his eyes again.

There was still so much he didn't understand about this world.

Why would someone, who has great enough strength to break bones and make someone bleed, hurt another when they could use that strength to help the world be better?

What, in their life, forced them to turn to a way of bad? A way where nothing will satisfy them? Yugi wondered that, maybe, he was simply on the wrong side. Maybe, their actions were justified.

"Yugi..Maybe you want to be alone for a bit? "

He realised that tears were spilling down his cheeks. He bit his lip in hopes it would go away, but instead made the liquid fall faster until he simply nodded to tell Anzu to leave.

He creaked open the window and looked outside. The cold night air brushed through his hair as it danced gently in the air. Not a single soul stirred as the clock ticked on, street lamps producing cloudy rays of light in the void as tiny specks of bug tried to stick to it. One lamp flickered, casting a shadow that disappeared and reappeared. The grey townscape filled with a bustling emptiness - it almost felt like it wasn't the same place that he was in this morning.

Tap..Tap..

Yugi jumped.Something was hitting the wall next to his window.On closer inspection, that something was a collection of tiny stones. He heard someone calling his name.

"Oii! Yugi!"

Yugi's gaze met Yami's, who was seemingly awake and sitting by his open window as well; the light from his bedroom glowing like a safe haven.Yami waved, grinning as Yugi payed attention to him rather than his bedroom.

Yami lowered his voice to not disturb people,"You good? I saw you with Anzu…"

"I'm fine." Yugi smiled back,

"Really?" Yami gave out a sigh of presumed relief, " Because it don't look that way."

The boy wiped his face with his sleeve, listening to Yami and feeling himself calm down with every word.

"Oh well,you probably don't wanna talk 'bout it!" He chuckled,"Oh! Check this out!"

The boy on the other end pulled out what looked like a long knife. It had graceful engravings at the base, a prominent eye shape appearing as a relief in the centre of the knife's base.

"This sword was sent to us this mornin'. Ma thinks it was sent by..him…"

Yami trailed off, soon getting distracted by the long, perfectly carved blade that shone with radiance. Yugi simply looked at it in interest, not speaking but instead gazing into the reflective surface of the primed blade. He listened closely as Yami talked about the blade some more, only stopping as soon as the topic switched to 'him' once again.

The moon broke through the clouds, filling the sky with an explosion of light.

"Dang, it's foggy. Hope it ain't like this tomorrow."

Yugi silently agreed, The fog bothered him a lot. The fog stopped him from seeing the endless layers of trees surrounding the town, or the tip of the mountain that lay beyond. He didn't want his surroundings to be anymore dark and dingy - it would already be difficult enough to see without the fog, let alone with it.

"Y'know.." Yami's face dropped, "I'm having a doctors appointment soon… to decide if I can get better…"

"I'm sure you'll be better soon. " Yugi hopefully stated, he had noticed that the idle chit-chat had helped his spirits rise a little.Yami shook his head;

"I doubt it.. The only treatment option available is in a city that this town can't get to..and we don't even know what the issue is with me!"

Yugi noticed the boy's eyes dampen a little, glittering in the moonlight as water collected in his eyes.

"I'm scared.." Yami whimpered, "What if they take me away.. "

Yugi shook his head. It wasn't as if he was the only one with issues at the current time. If he could help it, he would rather help out Yami then himself. The boy thought for a moment, before he took his pyramid pendant from the table near the window and clasped it. Hesitantly, he reached out, Yami looking in confusion as Yugi told him to take it.

" Here.! With this you won't be alone."

" It's just a pendant.. How would it.."

"If you're ever taken away," Yugi gleamed enthusiastically, "you can have this to help remember your friends!!"

More tears collected in Yami's eyes, spilling out just as Yugi's had done an hour before. He repeated his thanks many times, looking at the pendant as he cried.

"I'm not scared of being taken away anymore..thank you, Yugi. I really appreciate ya."

His eyes shone.

Yugi felt something dance in his chest. He wasn't being useless, he actually helped someone! The boy gave out an incandescent smile, corners of his mouth reaching to his eyes.

" Oh, uh.I'm sorry for bein' so.. Yknow.. over the topic on Ate' "

Yami started, "It's kinda rough of a topic for me.."

Yugi gently asked if he wanted to talk about it, to which Yami continued.

"He left two years ago and.. He hasn't come back.."

Yugi nodded, simply listening.

"He was cool.. He'd write stories 'nd draw pictures for de lil' kids here.."

He noticed a small smile forming on Yami's face as he spoke.

"Our Pa left when we'er five. He used to send letters, but once he stopped sendin' em Ate' changed.."

"In what way..?" Yugi asked, hoping that he wasn't being too pushy.

Yami whimpered, "He started wan'ing to travel.. He stopped doin' things with the kids.. 'nd soon.. He just left."

There was a piercing moment of silence between the two. A temperate breeze ran through their very similar hair, meddling with their faces and blocking each others views in a soft, soothing manner.

" He promised to come back but.. He hasn't.. Maybe I'm just impatient!"

Yami awkwardly laughed. It seemingly felt like he was showing some sort of weakness, sweating nervously and unsurely smiling.

"Here," Yugi held his hand out, showing his pinky finger, "I promise that he'll return. I pinky promise."

The other stared at the hand, taking a moment before finishing off the promise.

It felt as if, for a moment, he hadn't been beaten up.

It felt as if the world around him wasn't grey and dark.

Yugi felt happy.

He knew that the promise he had made was, in fact, impossible for him to keep. After all, he wasn't the deciding factor for Atemu coming home. However, sometimes, he felt that baseless promises give the people more hope than ones with reason.

He closed his eyes for a moment, the sound of Yami's voice echoing under the nights gusts;

"Thank you.."