Notes: Sorry this one took a lot longer to get out here. I'm aiming to update at least once a week, more if I'm able. Expect more on weekends than weekdays. On another note, I have this nagging feeling that the line " my partner in mind, thought and heart" was inspired by something I've read recently. I've poked around a bit, but can't seem to find it. I honestly hope it's not from somebody else's fanfic, though, if it is, it's entirely accidental. Should you come across something similar posted before this story, let me know, and I'll PM the author and grovel at their feet to gain their permission to keep it (or toss it if they so desire, but I must admit I'm rather fond of it and would hate to see it go). Thanks, and remember to let me know what you think!

This is un-betaed, apologies.

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This was clearly some kind of hitherto undiscovered torture. There is absolutely nothing in the world more frustrating than walking up a set of stairs and winding up two floors down from where you started. For starters, even thinking about something like that is enough to give anyone a splitting headache. Secondly, it was absolutely impossible to get anywhere. How was I supposed to find Mou Hitori No Boku in this place? Furthermore, spending hours and hours in this place (as I'm convinced that I have, it's felt like an eternity), was enough to make one completely convinced that the whole place was out to get you. Which it was. You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you, so I feel completely assured when I say that this place was deliberately misleading me. It was, without a doubt, malicious, and diabolical. Malevolent, even! Everything looked the same. So, either I was going in circles, or this place was even more monotonous than I first suspected.

And, after ages and ages of walking up to get down, left to go right, down to go sideways and backwards to go up, there was no sign of Mou Hitori No Boku. I was, without a doubt, ready to give up. I had one small problem, however. I didn't know quite where out was. I was lost. I was beyond lost. Lost, being such a small and monosyllabic word didn't quite seem to cover the entire disastrous circumstances I had found myself in.

So I did what I was told to do when I was lost. I sat down and didn't move. It had worked when I got lost in a department store with my mum when I was five. She'd told me earlier that day that if I got lost all I had to do was stay put, and she'd find me. She said it would do no good to have us both wandering around looking for each other, only to just miss each other as we went about our searching. And, sure enough, after ten panic-ridden minutes of anxious standing, she'd found me. I was hoping the same principles would apply for Mou Hitori No Boku, otherwise I'd never get out of this place.

Plus I was tired of walking.

So I sat and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then I heard something. It was the first something I'd heard that wasn't myself the whole time I'd been here. So, naturally, I rushed forward. Bad idea. I want to find out who's brilliant idea it was to put large granite blocks above doorways, that are rigged to drop on the head of the person who enters the room. I suspect it might have been Mou Hitori No Boku. I'm definitely going to have to have a talk with him about that.

I was seconds away from being a human pancake on the floor of Mou Hitori No Boku's soul room, which was definitely not the way I wanted my life to end, when I was shoved rather forcefully to the side and into the wall. I felt all the air rush from my lungs, wether from the impact itself, or from the fact that I was now cocooned in a pair of warm, strong arms, I wasn't sure. I jumped as the massive block of granite made contact with the floor. Loudly.

"Aibou?"

I can honestly say I've never been more relieved to hear Mou Hitori No Boku's voice. I looked up, and found myself literally face-to-face with him. I'm immensely glad I was too relieved not to be dead to be embarrassed.

"Mou Hitori No Boku! Oh, I've been looking for you for ages!" Thank you probably would have been a better thing to say, but I was just sort of spouting whatever came to my mind at that point.

His eyebrows raised marginally in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you. Looking for you," I said, slightly more calmly. Only slightly. "You've got impeccable timing. Thank you."

He looked around pointedly. "How long have you been here?" He stepped back and looked me over, as if he were checking me to make sure I was alright. Mostly it just made me acutely aware of how close we had been standing (almost nose-to-nose), and thus made me blush harder than ever.

"Ages." It was only then that I realized that perhaps that was a bit of an hyperbole. "Days. Hours. Minutes…"

"I'm not sure?" I finished hesitantly. Wow, way to make Mou Hitori No Boku think you're not incompetent, I mentally berated myself.

I think he was amused. Not that he actually showed this in any way. Oh, no, heaven forbid that Mou Hitori No Boku should show emotion openly. Actually, I'm not quite sure that's meant to be all that sarcastic. I don't know if I could handle someone so unflappably solid being decidedly emotional. Plus, I'm definitely emotional enough for two. I did, however, get the unmistakable feeling of amusement, which I identified as being not my own.

It took me a good thirty seconds to realize that I was actually sensing him.

"Uh…" How exactly does one word a question like this? "I can feel you." I barely refrained from bashing my head against the wall. What was I thinking? Note to self: must think before opening my big fat mouth.

"How so?" I genuinely admire the way he said that, so flippantly, like he was told that people were feeling him everyday.

I was now a charming shade of red. I could feel the blush in my cheeks, which, naturally, made me blush more. God, I hate that. "Uh, I didn't quite mean it that way. Or, I didn't mean for it to sound quite so…"

I cleared my throat nervously, as my voice seemed to have gotten wedged in there somewhere. He made a small gesture with his hand, motioning for me to continue speaking. If only it were that easy…

"I could feel your emotions, I think. I felt that you were amused. Or, I sure hope it was you, because I'm fairly certain it wasn't me." I think I may have physically cringed at that statement. Babbling is a curse, and I often wonder just what I did to deserve it.

"Hmm," he said. He looked thoughtfully at the doorway hanging open precariously above my head.

Finally, when I couldn't take his contemplative silence anymore, I ventured a timid, "Mou Hitori No Boku?"

He looked at me sharply, I suspected I'd startled him, but he didn't let it show. He looked at me for a moment, staring straight into my eyes as if to see straight back into my soul. I briefly wondered if that genuinely was what he was doing. Fortunately, before I could panic too much he deigned to answer me.

"I suppose it is possible that you should be able to sense my emotions. I, after all, can sense yours. I suspect, however, that it is due to your presence in this room that you are able to do so."

I pondered that for a moment. "So, because I'm in your soul room, your emotions are easier to read here?"

He nodded, and gave me another of his half-smiles. I grinned inside, knowing that I had in some way pleased him. "Yes. I am able to access your emotions because we are bound, Aibou, and it would make sense that it should work both ways. That is, after all, only fair play."

I smiled at that. Only Mou Hitori No Boku would make a reference to games at a time like this. He wasn't finished yet, however. "Most of the time I am the foreign entity, however," he continued. I wasn't quite sure I liked the phrase 'foreign entity' and was about to interrupt when he silenced me with a quick glance and went on. "As such, I am housed in your soul room, through which all your emotions run. That is how I am able to sense when you are in fear. It should not surprise me that the same would hold true in here. For the first time, you are the foreign presence here."

"I'm sorry for intruding," I said immediately, his words reminded me that it had entered without permission.

"You are always welcome here Aibou, however, it might be wise not to wander here alone. As you can see my soul room is a bit," he paused and gave a small wry grin, "complex."

"And you are always welcome in mine, Mou Hitori No Boku, even without an escort," I said, still pondering his earlier words, I was glad, though, that he wasn't angry for the intrusion.

He nodded in polite acceptance of my words, though I felt a wave of gratitude run through me that I knew was not my own. I smiled at him in acknowledgment.

"You call me Aibou," I began, not quite exactly what it was I was asking, but knowing I desperately desired the answer. "Why?"

He went into contemplative mode again before speaking. "I call you Aibou because you are my partner. You are the house of my soul, my partner in mind, thought and heart. Why do you call me Mou Hitori No Boku? Does that not also imply a partnership?"

I realized he had a point. "So that's what we are, partners?"

"Yes. If you do not like the name, I shall not use it again Hikari."

"No, no, I like it. Partners in mind, thought and heart." I let the words roll around in my mind, and came to the realization that I truly did like it. That's what we were, partners. Finally, some of the answers to questions I didn't even know I had were beginning to come through. "And Hikari?"

"You are my light," he said simply. "When I was within the Millennium Puzzle, I was surrounded and bound by the dark. Sightless, for what felt like an eternity, I had no light to live by, and no hope. But you," he faltered, overcome by an unidentifiable emotion. Whatever it was, I felt it, and I felt for him.

"You were alone there all along? In the dark?" I said, so quietly I wasn't sure he'd heard me.

"You were my light. When you placed the final piece of the puzzle in its place, my world was filled with light, and warmth. You are my Hikari, because you are the light that brought me from the dark." He looked at me, staring again into my eyes, before breaking the contact and looking at the wall, seemingly lost in thought. I saw him shudder slightly, and felt a wave of fear and grief travel up my spine. Mou Hitori No Boku was afraid.

"You won't ever have to go back there again." I had never meant anything more in my life.

He turned to look at me, and I felt a brief twinge of disbelief from him. "I won't let you. No matter what happens Mou Hitori No Boku, you're free. You're never going back to the darkness again, even if that means you have to live with me forever. You said we were partners, and partners help each other out. And I will not let you be taken back there."

That was probably the longest and truest speech I'd ever given. "I swear it."

Mou Hitori No Boku looked startled, and I picked up a wave of conflicting emotions coming from him. Surprise, gratitude, fear, amazement, happiness, among others. It was amazing he didn't blow up from emotional overload. And it was astounding how little of it showed on his face. Though, that was beginning to change.

"Hikari…"

"No. Don't argue. Don't tell me I can't do it, because I will anyway. Face it, you're stuck with me." For better or for worse. In sickness and in health, 'til death do us part. I sniggered mentally at my own warped sense of humor.

I was met with a wave of overwhelming gratitude and happiness that was answer enough for me. For the first time since I'd met him, Mou Hitori No Boku truly smiled. I'd never seen a more captivating sight in my entire life. There was no way that I was ever going to let him go.

- - - - - -

A few things I'd like to know, if you have the time:

There are a couple things I'd like your feedback on, mostly characterization. As a newbie to the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, I'll freely admit to being a little shaky about characterization. So, I'm wondering if people think that my characters are still "on", and not to out of whack? I'm mostly thinking of the differences between Yugi and Yami (I've tried to make Yami seem far more ancient and mysterious, mostly by shifting his language around to a more formal feel, and keeping him relatively reserved — which I think is true of the beginning of their relationship). Similarly, I've given Yugi a freer style of speaking, using more slang and modern casual language constructions. But does this help, hinder or do nothing to separate the two of them? Do they still "feel" right to you? And, for that matter, did Téa still feel right? Or was she way out of whack?

If you've got the time, I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have. I'll be sure to respond, and will incorporate any suggestions I'm able to in the next chapters (and should revision ever take place, the previous chapters too).

Thanks very much!

The Second Coming.