A/N: Yay! New chapter! I feel so spiffy for getting these last few chapters up so quickly. The pointy projectiles gave me plenty of motivation; that, and college is looming upon me, so I figured I ought to get this done while I still have time. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love you all and send you virtual hugs.

In Memories Forgotten

Chapter 15

It was warm. There was warmth and softness all around him. For a few moments he didn't wonder why, he simply enjoyed the feeling. The world was only the sound of wind and the smell of cinnamon and blissful warmth. Eventually, though, wakefulness tugged at his consciousness and he opened his eyes.

The room he was in was so familiar. He looked around at the wood floors, at the fireplace and the pillowed armchairs. And, on the other side of the fireplace there was a piano. Then, he heard a voice, such a familiar voice, softly humming an equally familiar tune.

Atemu roused himself from the bed he was lying on and went to the door of the little house. Outside there was a sea of green hills framed by forest. There were mountains off in the distance and he could hear the soft trickle of water from a nearby stream. The sky was a cheerful, cloudless blue, the sun shining happily down on the hills.

The sun…

In sudden panic Atemu stumbled backward to hit the wall, throwing an arm up as though to shield himself from the golden rays that were pouring in through the door and windows.

"Do not worry," the familiar voice said. "It cannot hurt you anymore."

Atemu stood where he was for a moment, frozen, then slowly stepped forward, out the door and into the sunlight. He had to shield his eyes, not used to the glaring brightness. In fact, it took him several moments to realize that there was no pain. Instead there was the sensation of warmth. His eyes eventually adjusting to the light, he simply stood there and soaked in the feeling of sunshine on his skin, something that he hadn't felt in centuries.

Then, sensing a presence, Atemu whirled around. And he could only stare. Deep violet eyes lit up with a smile in a face that was framed by crimson-black strands.

"Hello, Atemu," she said.

For several moments there was silence. There was only the sun, her and him staring at her. Then there was a sob. A little child, robbed of innocence, ran to his mother with tears in his eyes. The mother took the child into her arms, her gentle touch soothing away the grief and the fear. The mother and the child stayed like that for a long time while the sun warmed their backs and the breeze danced around them.

Eventually, Atemu raised his head and looked up into his mother's soft eyes. She smiled at him and held him tighter. Atemu relaxed into the embrace.

"Is this heaven?" he whispered.

"This is a part of it, yes," Hikaru said. "This is where I have waited for you; this is where many souls wait for those that they had to leave behind."

Those that they had to leave behind… Atemu gasped suddenly and pulled away from the embrace.

"Yugi!" he exclaimed as all the memories rushed back to him. He shook his head in dismay. "Oh, gods, Yugi…"

"Yes," Hikaru said sympathetically. "Yugi was the one that you had to leave behind."

Atemu's head snapped up. "Is he all right? Do you know what's happened to him?"

Hikaru's eyes became sad. "I am afraid that he will be in great danger soon. He is already in much pain from the grief over your passing, and he will not be able to escape the hunters from the village by himself. They will easily overtake him."

Atemu stared at his mother in horror, then shook his head. "No…" he fell to his knees, his legs suddenly unable to support him. "Please, no…"

"Atemu…" Hikaru murmured, kneeling beside him and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Atemu shook his head harder.

"I promised him…" he said, almost choking on the words. "I promised him that I'd protect him…" Atemu closed his eyes, tears of shame and grief escaping to trickle down his face. "But I failed him…"

"Atemu," Hikaru said again. She grasped Atemu's chin gently and raised his head up so that their eyes locked. "You did not fail him," she said intensely. "You sacrificed your own life to save his."

Atemu laughed bitterly. "Yes, for all the good that it did. He's still going to be captured and burned anyways; I just delayed it."

"Atemu," Hikaru said, this time sternly. Atemu fell silent immediately and Hikaru continued in a more gentle tone. "I was sent here, my son, because I have a message for you. You are being given a choice."

A choice? Atemu frowned in confusion.

"You can either come with me and move on into the next world…"

Atemu nearly cried out with joy at the thought. He had wanted so very badly to see his mother again, to be with her and enjoy her company. To finally travel with her to a land of peace, where no one could tear them apart again, seemed too good to be true.

"Or…" Hikaru went on and Atemu halted his thoughts to listen, "… you can go back."

Atemu blinked and Hikaru explained. "Your spirit will be allowed to re-enter your body and you will be given the chance to save Yugi."

Hikaru jumped slightly as her son suddenly threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Then he abruptly pulled away, staring at her with concern.

"But wait… The curse was broken, destroyed. I won't have any magic left to save Yugi."

Hikaru smiled. "Atemu, you've been a nightwalker for seven centuries. Your physical body has surely absorbed a great deal of magic from the curse, just as the house did. Just release the magic contained in your body and that will be enough for you to help Yugi."

Atemu smiled in relief and nodded, but Hikaru went on. "Now, there are two other things that you must know. The first is that, if you choose to go back, there is one condition: you must spend the rest of your human life protecting Yugi, as you promised him you would."

Atemu nodded vigorously. "And the second thing," Hikaru said, "Is something that I need you to know." She gently took Atemu's hands in hers. "At the end of your life in the physical world, Atemu, I will still be here waiting for you. Nothing can change that."

Hikaru kissed his forehead tenderly. "Now, what is your choice?"

Atemu stared at her for a moment, breathless. "I want to go back," he managed to say. Hikaru smiled.

"Very well."

She rose, pulling Atemu up off the ground with her, and led him away from the house towards the forest. When they reached the edge of the trees, she pointed to them and said, "Walk through the forest towards the mountains. This will eventually lead you back."

Hikaru hugged her son tightly and softly said in his ear, "And when you have saved Yugi, you will find a home that I have made for you."

Atemu pulled away from the embrace. "What do you mean?"

"You will see," Hikaru said with a grin.

Atemu smiled, deciding to take her word for it. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, then turned and disappeared into the trees.

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Yugi eventually raised himself off of Atemu's lifeless body and into a sitting position, still sniffling. Atemu's pale face was relaxed, as if he were asleep. Yugi stroked his limp hand out of habit, the action triggering memories and bringing more tears to his eyes.

He knew that he shouldn't stay; the townspeople would be searching for him, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Atemu's body. And if he did leave, where would he go? The townspeople knew where the house was and would expect him to go there, so that wasn't an option. He wasn't even sure if the house still existed without Atemu's magic; the kegawa surely weren't there anymore. There were other towns, of course, but even if he could get to them he had no money and nowhere to stay. And, if news of the "witch" got to other towns, which it certainly would, then he wouldn't have a chance if he were caught.

The unshed tears overflowed and trickled down his cheeks. /I should let them find me/ he thought bitterly. /I don't have anything left to live for/

Yugi's head snapped up as he heard shouts and quick footsteps through the undergrowth. His heart skipped a beat. Even if he had nothing left to live for, burning to death wasn't really the way he wanted to go.

The shouts grew louder. Yugi, deciding Atemu wouldn't want him to just give up, pulled himself to his feet. He hid Atemu's body amongst the brush, not wanting the hunters to get their hands on it. He squeezed Atemu's hand one last time, then made his way as quickly and quietly as he could away from the town and into the night forest.

He could still hear the shouts and footsteps of the villagers. Yugi absently wondered how they had captured him in the first place, making so much noise. He leapt over a fallen log, pushed his way through some heavy vines, and stumbled through some undergrowth. Suddenly he froze.

"There she is!" the villager shouted as he spotted Yugi in the flickering light of his torch. Yugi turned in the opposite direction and ran. He didn't know where he was going, just as long as it was away from them. He needed to find a place to hide, as he doubted he could outrun the hunters.

More voices joined the shouts of the villager that had seen him. Yugi kept running without looking back. His legs were starting to ache and he was short of breath. If he could just find a thicket to hide in…

Suddenly, his foot caught a thick tree root and he fell forward on his face. He tried to scramble back up, but a hand grabbed his arm and he was pulled backwards.

"We got her!" a voice shouted. Yugi felt panic surge in his chest and he retaliated by turning and slamming his fist into the man's face. The villager let go of his arm as he stumbled backwards from the blow, but suddenly two more villagers grabbed him from behind. Yugi saw out of the corner of his eye that one of them was holding shackles. Yugi managed to ram his foot into one man's shin, but the other forced his arms behind his back. He heard the clank of iron as the shackles closed on his wrists.

The man that Yugi had punched stood up and was walking towards Yugi and his captor, but rather suddenly doubled over as Yugi brought his knee up into the man's stomach. If Yugi was going to be dragged off to certain death, he sure wasn't going to go quietly.

More villagers emerged from the trees. Yet another unfortunate man got a knee in the stomach, and one of them eventually decided that it would be less trouble for them if they bound Yugi's ankles. Another stuffed a gag in Yugi's mouth, telling the others that the witch could cast spells on a man if she were allowed to speak. Yugi had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

One of the men, which Yugi recognized as one of the jailers that had tied him to the stake, grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look into his hardened face.

"You got away before, you little witch," he said contemptuously. "But you won't have the same luck this time!"

Suddenly, there was a dull thump. The man's eyes widened and his jaw went slack. His grip on Yugi's hair slowly weakened and he fell to the ground with a knife in his back.

There was uproar amongst the villagers as they tried to figure out where the knife had come from, but Yugi didn't listen. He was staring at the blade's black handle. He had seen the knife before; he knew who it belonged to, but… it was impossible…

A roar suddenly echoed through the trees, shaking Yugi back into the present. With wide eyes Yugi watched as a torrent of dark shadows with gargoyle faces descended upon the hunters. Yugi fell to the ground as the man holding him screamed and turned to run. The shadow engulfed him and the scream cut off abruptly.

Yugi struggled against his bonds as one of the shadows came towards him, but suddenly it stopped. It seemed to study him for a moment, then it turned and drifted away into the trees. The rest of the shadows followed, leaving the lifeless yet unscathed bodies of the villagers behind.

Yugi sat where he had fallen in shock. What was going on? What had just happened? He jumped as he heard footsteps, and froze as a human form entered the shadowed area. Yugi's eyes went wide and he fell back against a tree trunk, suddenly not able to support himself.

Atemu had to lean against a tree to stay standing and was out of breath. Sweat trailed down his face, and somewhere in his shock-ridden mind Yugi noted that this was odd.

Atemu stumbled forward, falling to his knees beside Yugi. He gently removed the gag, but Yugi could only stare at him dumbly. Atemu smiled wearily.

"What? Is this the only welcome I get?"

Yugi tried to speak, but instead a small sob forced itself out of his throat and he threw himself into Atemu's embrace with tears running down his face. He felt the shackles being removed and as soon as his arms were free he hugged Atemu tightly.

They stayed that way for several minutes. Yugi eventually calmed down and the sobs quieted. He raised his head and looked up into Atemu's face; the sight nearly made him break down again. Glancing around, Yugi saw the lifeless bodies of the villagers lying amongst the trees. His eyes fell on the man with the knife in his back.

"Nice shot," he managed to say. Atemu chuckled. Yugi raised his hands and traced the lines of Atemu's face slowly, then took Atemu's hands and began to rub them. Atemu smiled at the familiar action. Yugi smiled back. There were so many things that he wanted to ask Atemu, about how he was alive and what the phantom shadows were, but right now all he wanted to do was enjoy Atemu's presence.

Then, Yugi frowned. Something wasn't quite right. The skin under his hands felt… warm. Yugi looked up at Atemu and gently wiped some of the sweat away from his forehead. Nightwalkers don't sweat… they don't have any body heat…

"You're…!" Yugi exclaimed, but he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as a moan reached his ears. Their heads whipped around simultaneously to stare at one of the villagers as he moaned again and began to pick himself up off the ground. Others also began to move about as they woke up, excluding the man with the knife in his back.

Atemu reacted quickly. He reached out and jerked his knife out of the villager's back, then grabbed Yugi and darted behind a tangle of shrubs. They watched in hiding as the villagers stood up and asked each other what had happened.

"I thought they were dead," Yugi whispered fearfully as he clung to Atemu.

"No," Atemu said. "The shadows I sent just changed their memories. The only one that died is the one that got stabbed."

"Changed their memories?"

"Yes. They won't remember catching you; what they'll remember is that a torch was accidentally dropped, caught your clothes on fire and burned you to death. They'll go back to the village and tell everyone that you're dead."

"So they won't chase us anymore…" Yugi murmured.

Atemu nodded. "Exactly."

They watched as the men "remembered" what had happened and congratulated each other on their fine efforts. They momentarily mourned the loss of their one casualty, proclaiming him a fine man that had sacrificed himself for the good of the village, then they hauled his body off the ground and headed for the town.

As soon as they were out of sight Yugi relaxed against Atemu. He was surprised when he felt warmth in Atemu's skin, then he remembered.

"How…" he said, and Atemu frowned at him.

"How do you have body heat? I thought it was impossible…"

"Impossible for nightwalkers," Atemu said. Yugi stared at Atemu in confusion. "I, Yugi, am no longer a nightwalker. The curse was destroyed, remember?"

Yugi smiled as comprehension dawned on him, but then he frowned again. "But what about the shadow monsters? You conjured them, right?"

"Yes… sort of. They were merely a release of magic that had built up in my body over the centuries."

Yugi nodded. "So… you're a human now…"

Atemu smiled. "I suppose I am."

Yugi threw his arms around Atemu and they sat there in each other's arms for a long time, not wanting to move. Eventually, though, Yugi asked, "Where do we go now?"

Atemu shrugged. "Back to the house, I suppose. Or what's left of it."

"Is it not there anymore?"

Atemu bit his lip. "Well, the house was very old and very ill-kempt; I think my magic might have been the only thing supporting it. The house probably collapsed when the curse was broken."

Yugi's brow creased in a frown, but then he smiled. "Well, then that means there's materials to build a new house, right?"

Atemu smiled, then swept Yugi up in his arms and headed for the house. They walked hand in hand through the forest as the sun began to peek over the horizon and eventually entered the clearing where the house was. They expected to see the house in ruins. Instead, Yugi laughed aloud at what he saw and Atemu slumped down onto a fallen log as his legs suddenly weakened under him. He suddenly knew what his mother's last comment had meant.

Behind the iron fence was the house, but it was not the same house. It looked as though it had just been built rather than being centuries old. The garden around it was full of flowers and the trees were filled with new leaves. And, Yugi noticed happily, there were no longer boards on the windows and all the shutters were flung open.

Yugi sat down beside Atemu and put his arms around him.

"How is this possible?" he asked softly.

Atemu smiled. "Someone up there is looking out for us, I guess."

A/N: And so the story ends. I'm thinking of doing an epilogue; it shouldn't take me too long. Now maybe I'll focus on Beneath the Surface. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, all the way back to the beginning (which was a year and a half ago). Please review, you will make me very happy!