Notes: Apologies. I meant to have this out last Friday, but it wasn't finished on time, and then I got distracted by Deathly Hallows. Anyway, I'm hoping to post both this chapter and the next (which I originally intended to post tomorrow, as I'll be going away for the weekend and will be incommunicado), in rapid succession. Hopefully I'll get that one wrapped up by tomorrow evening, but if not I'll be back on Tuesday at the earliest. Remember to review, please! And a big thanks to everyone who did review.

- - - - -

Alright, so we didn't go to the library right away. It was only after I'd pulled myself from my soul room, dashed down the stairs in a veritable blur, rushed through the kitchen, and out the door into the very dark outside that I realized the library closed at six. It was now ten after six. It's moments like these that convince me that the universe has a highly perverse sense of humor. Defeated, I slunk back into the house.

We'll go tomorrow, Mou Hitori No Boku, I thought. I promise.

I felt a gentle wave of calm reassurance wash over me, and I smiled.

"Yugi?"

I practically jumped out of my skin at the sound of Grandpa's voice. Heart racing, I whirled around, and started chuckling when I saw the look on his face. "Sorry, you scared me, Grandpa."

"Clearly," he said, chuckling slightly. "You must have been very lost in thought to not have heard me coming." He looked at me closely. "Anything I can help you with?"

I paused, staring absently at my Millennium Puzzle. "Actually," I said, coming to a decision. "You can. I was wondering how much you know about the Millennium Puzzle?"

Grandpa smiled. "I figured that's what you were after. We'll talk over dinner Yugi, come sit down."

It actually was a good half hour before we even got talking. Between serving dinner and eating it, both done in companionable silence, however, I was about ready to burst when Grandpa finally pushed away his plate and sat back in his chair.

"Perhaps we should —" he broke off when he saw the look on my face and chuckled. "Alright, we can wash up after." He got comfortable in his chair and looked at me closely, before opening his hands in a gesture of surrender and saying, "what exactly is it that you want to know?"

"Well," I began. I'd been thinking about what I wanted to ask him all dinner, but now, being presented with the opportunity, I found my questions direly inadequate. "What do you know?" Wimpy question, but hopefully something he said would trigger a better one.

"Well, the Millennium Puzzle is Egyptian in origin, which you know," he looked at me and smiled when I nodded in agreement. "It is said to grant the knowledge and powers of darkness to anyone who can solve it. About which, you would know more than I."

I sighed. Well, that was just maddeningly unhelpful.

"And the puzzle is said to be home to a spirit. Which is what you are really asking about, isn't it?"

"He doesn't remember his past," I admitted, staring at the contours of the puzzle and admiring the way the light reflected off it. "I want to help him find it. I was hoping the past of the puzzle itself would hold some clues."

Grandpa looked at me with a look of profound pride. "Yugi, you truly are the kindest child…" He shook his head and smiled. "That is as good a way as any to find answers. There is little doubt that the fates of the puzzle and the spirit that resides within are intertwined. But learning about one, you will learn about the other."

I nodded. I'd already figured that part out, but it was reassuring to have it reiterated. I frowned, as I looked closer at the puzzle. The light didn't seem to properly reflect off it. It was almost as if the puzzle was taking in the light, instead of bouncing it back. The light looked different around it, as if it were swathed in shadows. Peculiar, but not entirely unexpected, I supposed. I wondered if the shadows that I was seeing were the same shadows that had trapped Mou Hitori No Boku for who knows how long. I shuddered slightly, and tore my gaze away from the puzzle. I felt Mou Hitori No Boku stir within me, and I sent a wave of reassurance through our link.

I'm fine. I was just thinking, I thought.

I felt him nod. It was the most peculiar sensations imaginable. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew that he was nodding with his usual stoic acceptance. I smiled slightly at the mental picture that produced.

I looked up to find Grandpa looking at me closely. "What's he like?" he asked, finally. "This spirit of yours?"

I blushed. "He's not really mine, he's more … his own," I muttered, still blushing madly.

Grandpa chuckled deeply, and waited for me to stop blushing so deeply.

"But he's… amazing. He's very protective of me, but I think that's partly because he's so glad to be free. He was trapped in the Puzzle, for what I think was a very long time. He can't remember much, and I think that's very painful for him. He wants so badly to remember." I paused, and blushed again at the intent look that Grandpa was giving me. He didn't say anything, and cold fear started to grip my heart. What if he too was afraid of Mou Hitori No Boku? What if he wanted to take him away? I started breathing heavily, the beginnings of a panic attack starting. Mou Hitori No Boku stirred inside me, I got the impression that he was opening his eyes sleepily, and taking in his surroundings carefully. He was watching now, I could tell.

"You said a lot about how he feels, Yugi," Grandpa said finally, a slight frown on his face. "But how do you feel?"

"I trust him," I said immediately. "I don't believe he would hurt me. He wants to protect me. He's my friend."

Grandpa looked at me for another long, agonizing moment before his face relaxed. "Very well. If you speak so highly of him, I suppose I'm bound to like the fellow."

Relief flooded my veins, and I physically sagged down into my chair. "Thank you, thank you, Grandpa." I smiled, fully and genuinely, and murmured, "thank you" once more.

He frowned again. "Is something wrong, Yugi?"

"Joey, Téa and Tristan," I said, slowly, "they don't trust him."

"And you feared I wouldn't either?" he said. I was unsurprised that he had read me like an open book. He was highly insightful on his off days, darn creepy when he was at the top of his game.

"Umm," I replied sheepishly.

He chuckled. "No, I trust your judgement, Yugi. If you trust him, then I do too. Your friends will come around in time, I suspect that they're only concerned for you because they care."

"They wanted to take my puzzle away," I said quietly.

"Hmm," was the enigmatic reply. Finally, when I looked about ready to explode with anticipation Grandpa continued, "I'm not surprised Yugi. People often fear what they don't understand. They really are just genuinely concerned for you. So much so, that they have forgotten to stop and take your feelings into account. They will remember, in time."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less," I said morosely.

"No," he smiled kindly. "No, I suppose it doesn't."

We shared a moment of companionable silence before Grandpa stood up. "Help and old man with these plates, would you Yugi?"

I grinned, suddenly feeling lighter than I had since this whole fiasco began.

"Thanks Grandpa," I said.

"Anytime Yugi. Now, kindly grab a pair of rubber gloves and start washing. These plates won't clean themselves, you know." He was grinning at me, and there was no harshness in his tone. Without intending it, I found myself grinning back just as widely.

- - - - - -

I did manage to get to the library the next day, dashing there right after school had ended and burying myself in a heap of books on Ancient Egypt. So far I'd had no luck. I wasn't quite sure what exactly to look for, I was searching for any and all references to the Millennium Puzzle, but I was starting to wonder if perhaps it had another name that I wasn't aware of. Still, nothing I'd come across so far seemed to be even remotely related.

I sighed, and grumbled wordlessly in frustration. I flipped through yet another "History of Egypt" resource book, long since having resorted to skimming the pages for anything that looked useful. I turned the page, and looked closely at the picture of hieroglyphs that was printed there.

"Can you read it?" I asked Mou Hitori No Boku quietly. I could feel his presence actively in the back of my mind, signally that he was watching what was going on. Somehow the knowledge that he was actively participating seemed to relieve me. It would be nice to have a second set of eyes. And I suppose it was unsurprising, no doubt he was highly interested.

It is familiar to me, he replied, his words like caresses in my mind. Low, baritone tingle, that captured my undivided attention effortlessly. It felt almost soft, if someone's thoughts could be described as such. Mou Hitori No Boku certainly seemed to encourage me to stretch the limits of my adjectives, often leaving my far behind, wordless to explain the sensations his presence seemed to elicit. I almost couldn't remember a time before it. I certainly don't know what I'd do now, if he were to leave. I'd feel empty. Alone.

It was a slightly alarming realization that I couldn't live alone in my own mind anymore. But when I remembered how right this felt, how complete he made me, it seemed completely immaterial.

Mou Hitori No Boku brought me out of my thoughts when he sent softly, no. I am not able to read it. His voice seemed laced with an emotion that I couldn't quite place, but I strove quickly to send a wave of reassurance through our link.

I turned the page again, away from the hieroglyphs, only to find a picture of Anubis, the god of the dead, overseeing the weighing of the heart, a scene from the Book of the Dead. The feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth, sat on one end of the scale, and the heart of the deceased on the other. I ran my fingers lightly over the feather, a symbol of truth and justice, hoping desperately for some inspiration.

"Well, perhaps you're not even from Egypt," I said finally. It was an idea I'd briefly entertained, though something in my heart seemed to doubt it. "I mean, we know the artifact, the puzzle itself, is Egyptian, based on the hieroglyphs and the eye of Horus, but you could have been sealed in it years, centuries, even millennia after it was made. Hopefully if we can trace the puzzle itself throughout history, we can find the point where it intersects with your own past." I said all this as reassuringly as possible, but I'm not sure it helped. Mou Hitori No Boku's reply was indecisive at best.

'Perhaps' was all he said. I wondered briefly if he felt the same doubt at that theory that I felt, so instinctively? I decided not to ask, however. I felt the tendrils of Mou Hitori No Boku's consciousness retreat fro my mind, as he returned to his own soul room once more. That was a clear sign to me that he didn't want to talk anymore. I sighed in defeat. Oh, Mou Hitori No Boku, I wish so dearly that I could help you.

I returned to my (so far) fruitless search, determined to find something, anything, that would help him find out who he was. It had to be here somewhere. Somewhere, in some obscure passage, in one of the many books that lay in a huge pile before me, lay the answers that we were so desperately seeking. It had to be only a matter of time before we found them.

"Yug?" I jumped slightly, knocking over a large volume of "Our Oriental Heritage" which hit the floor with a loud 'thunk'. The sound earned me a reproving "shh!" from the librarian, and I winced apologetically. Looking up, I saw Joey, Téa and Tristan all standing in front of me, looking apprehensive.

"Uh, hi guys," I ducked under the table to pick up the book and slowed my breathing to an acceptable rate. Geez, was it everyone's personal mission to sneak up on me?

"What are you doing, Yugi?" Téa asked. It was pretty obvious that she didn't really care what the answer was, but that she felt like she ought to say something. Joey shuffled from foot to foot, looking awkward.

"Reading," I said flatly. "If you're going to stay you might as well take a seat."

"Actually," said Téa before Joey could sink down into a chair, "we were wondering if you would like to go for a walk with us. We were going to the park."

"I'm kind of busy —"

"Yugi, please," she said. "We really need to talk. I think Joey, Tristan and I have some things to say, and we can't really do that here."

I sighed, weighing my options. I wanted to finish my research, but at the same time, they were coming forward, wanting to talk to me. Maybe this was our chance to patch things up? But could I really abandon the search for Mou Hitori No Boku's past like this?

Aibou. I started slightly. I hadn't realized that he had been listening. You should go make peace with your friends. These books will still be here, but your friends might not. I can wait.

I frowned. Are you sure?

Yes, Aibou. I appreciate your want to help me, but your friends should come first. Your friends mean a great deal to you, and to make peace with them would make you happy. If waiting a day or two to continue the search for my past is the price that must be paid for your happiness, than I will gladly pay it. I can wait.

I smiled, sending warmth to Mou Hitori No Boku. He really was wonderful. Thank you.

I felt him smile, he left my mind with a soft caress and retreated once again to his soul room.

I looked up at Téa, who was looking at me with an indecipherable expression. "Alright," I said. "Let's go."

I did check out three books for later this evening, vowing to not give up the search entirely, and followed my friends to the park. It was an excruciatingly long walk there, as I was somewhat dreading the coming confrontation. I knew it probably wouldn't be very pleasant, but I also knew it needed to be done.

As, apparently, did they. That was surely a good sign, that they were willing to approach me at all, wasn't it? Perhaps they really did want to make peace.

Finally, Téa turned to me and took a deep breath. "We still want to be your friend, Yugi. We want this fight to stop."

"We just want everything to be normal," added Joey, "like it was before."

"So do I," I said carefully, wondering just how they meant to go about achieving this.

"So," said Joey, slowly. "So, we want to talk to … him."

"What?" I said, surprised. That was not at all what I was expecting.

"We want to talk to him," he repeated, more firmly this time. "You said you trust him, but we haven't ever really met him. So, we want to have a chance to judge him for ourselves."

"Not so much judge," cut in Téa, correctly interpreting my expression of perturbation at Joey's choice of words. "As meet. We want a chance to get to know him."

Gently I reached out to Mou Hitori No Boku. Were you listening? I asked.

Yes.

And? I said slightly impatiently.

He sighed. If they wish to meet me, then I shall oblige. Though I am not sure I like it.

I wasn't sure I liked it either, but I didn't mention it. Thank you.

"Alright," I said, looking straight at Joey. "He's agreed."

"Good," said Tristan, and he sent me a small smile. "Hopefully we can put all this behind us soon then."

"Hopefully," I agreed, and then I relinquished control to Mou Hitori No Boku, and hung back to watch what was about to unfold.

- - - - - -