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"Talking."

"Thinking."

/Yami and Yugi's mind link./

Chapter 4: Illness Effect

Yugi awoke late in the morning. He groaned as discomfort strained his entire body. He removed the cloth from his face that warmed up during the night and rubbed his eyes. Glancing over at his clock, he remembered everyone else was in school. He sighed out of isolation as he tried to sit up.

/Wait!/ Yami protested with care. /Are you feeling well enough?/

The teen stopped moving and reviewed he had too little strength to move at all. He decided to stay put to ease himself and his friend.

/Did you sleep ok,/ the spirit asked, making easy conversation.

/Yeah…/ Yugi answered lazily.

Yami assumed since his partner still did not act like his normal self he was only burnt out. He advised gently, /Why don't you go back to sleep./

Tiredly, Yugi glanced over towards his pendant. He recalled the previous night his last thoughts were about chains. He reflected the eight years it took him to solve the entire Puzzle. He was drawn to the power emitted inside. At first he did not understand and just enjoyed his time placing the pieces together.

"And then I met you," he remembered nostalgically.

If anything, he wouldn't ever be alone as long as he stayed connected to his darker half. He first found the idea of an ancient spirit watching over him while ill a bit odd in the beginning. As time moved on he grew more comfortable around the pharaoh. He wondered if he would miss having someone by his side and encouraging him either through words, action, or even mere presence.

He knew he only had so much time before the Domino Museum closed its exhibit on Ancient Egypt and displayed something new. Any other clues that would help lead the pharaoh to finding his memories would soon be lost. Yugi gripped his bed sheets tightly with fear. Although he wanted to keep his promise, a part of him wanted to keep his friend with him. He thought about the possibility of bringing the Puzzle with him if he ever decided to leave Domino. At least then he would never be alone.

He allowed himself to drift back into sleep until the evening.

Yami took a seat on a chair in Yugi's room as he watched over his partner. Carefully, he observed the boy's chest inhale and exhale calmly, like the waves in a harmonious sea. The young teen also had his eyes closed as his body rested against the mattress with the sun gently shining through. So far, no signs of the illness worsening, or the boy suffering from his stomach ulcer appeared.

"Stress is a terrible build up," the spirit noted. "Yugi… What is it that is causing you to become ill? What are you so tense about?"

Yami decided when the teen woke up he should be well enough to talk about his problems. Although he wanted to find his own memories, he pushed aside his problem to take care of his partner. He, however, did not want to pressure the younger one into speaking about his inner private thoughts. He held too much respect for his partner to commit such an act.

"But if I can find a clue as to what is bothering you, then maybe I can help find a solution."

The sun moved graciously across the sky, signifying how much time had passed during the day. Yami kept a close eye on his lighter half. He knew the adolescent needed as much rest as possible in order to recover on a steady path.

Because the teen slept into the late afternoon, he did not have the opportunity for a visit with his friends. As the sun finished melting into the horizon, Yugi woke up. Bit by bit, he opened his eyes. He groaned a little in pain. He sat up in bed and noticed his body was covered with sweat and an unpleasant smell.

/How do you feel?/ Yami asked casually. He waited patiently before receiving a steady reply, /Still tired… but fine./

Carefully, the boy stood up and made his way to his dresser.

/Yugi, you should stay in bed,/ Yami heavily recommended, wanting to keep his partner from passing out and hitting the floor.

/I will,/ Yugi answered softly. /I just want to take a bath first and wash off./

Just as the boy was about to open his door, his grandfather knocked. No words exchanged between the pair, and the elderly man guided his grandson to the bathroom where a warm bath was already prepared. The woman with maroon hair and Solomon allowed the teen to rinse off on his own. Yugi took off his clothes and stepped into the water.

"This feels good," Yugi thought as he allowed his body to relax.

He was a tad upset he slept through a time where he could have had a visit from his friends. Although he was not prepared to say anything about his emotions, he still wanted a little company. He recalled a memory when he was a first year in high school. He had a small fever and everyone came by after school. He felt ecstatic for having people rearranging their plans to see someone they cared about. He realized friendship is like a nice, warm bath for the human spirit and heart. He didn't want to leave the gratifying water for a cold world.

A small knock was at the door. The young adult sighed as he hopped out, dried himself off, and changed into a fresh, clean pair of pajamas. He was glad he finally obtained some clothes that did not look as though he was in grade school.

After leaving the bathroom, Yugi was guided by his mother towards his room. He entered his room and told his family that he would just go straight to sleep.

When the door shut, a spirit appeared and asked with care, /How do you feel?/

/Fine… I'm going to bed./ Yugi announced a bit tired. He climbed onto his mattress and lied on his back. However, he remained awake for a bit.

Silence took control of the room. The older boy made a note of this, and because no extreme pain bound Yugi's body, he decided to seize this opportunity to talk with his lighter half.

/Are you ready to speak about why you are building up so much stress?/ he finally asked.

Yugi shifted towards his side with his back against his darker half.

The spirit grew a concerned look on his face.

/Yugi, please,/ he began. /What's wrong?/

The young teen stayed silent. He simply closed his eyes instead. Although he didn't want to be left alone, he did not want to explain his problems. He couldn't help but hold back.

/Can't we talk about this?/ Yami tried to reason but received no reply. He sighed wearily, unsure what else he could do. He was confused why his partner was not speaking with him. He understood his partner was drained, but he could only assume the worst. Perhaps the one reason why Yugi was not speaking to anyone was because of the one fact that could cause a relationship to fail.

/I thought we trusted each other./ he thought out loud to his lighter half. /We've been through many battles together, and you've been there with me the entire time. Our harshest time together was when we faced Dartz./

He closed his eyes with disgust as he clinched his fits tightly, recalling his terrible action that nearly cost his partner's life.

/Is that why you won't talk to me?/ Yami asked despondently. /Have you not forgiven me? Do you not trust me?/

Yugi's eyes widened hearing what his darker half had questioned. He sat up and faced him with a hurtful expression. He didn't want his partner to bear any guilt for causing his current illness. He knew none of this was because of a lack of faith nor were any of his negative emotions caused by the spirit of the Puzzle.

"That's not it." Yugi whispered.

Yami opened his eyes and looked over at the smaller boy.

"I do trust you." Yugi continued. "I have forgiven you."

Yami felt relieved when the teen's words left his mouth. He was glad Yugi placed confidence in him and forgave him after everything they've been through. However, he frowned upon remembering the condition of his partner.

"Then what is bothering you?" Yami questioned. "Surely whatever problems you have we can face together."

Yugi glanced down at his bed sheets. "Together…"

After a moment of silence, he whispered, "No… I can't."

"Why not? Yugi, I'm only here to try and help you… Is this a problem that you wish to speak only with your other friends?"

"N-no…"

"Then what is it? Yugi, can't you speak to someone about this?"

"No! I can't!"

"Yugi, you're worrying your family, friends, and me."

"I know that!"

"Then can't you at least say what's on your mind? Can you let me in? Can we please talk about this?"

"I just can't!"

"But Yugi—"

"Yami, there is a time when people act together and become stronger. Our unity and friendship have been able to overcome anything… We stood by each other's side… You helped me when I wanted to rescue my grandpa from Pegasus. Joey was there for me even after being brainwash by Malik. I was there for you during Battle City and our fight against Dartz… But…

"But there are times in everyone's life… in my life…where we have to take a journey alone."

Yami only stared at his lighter half with awe. He understood what the boy had stated was true. He, however, never expected to hear those words from Yugi Muto. Perhaps no one did.

"I can't talk about this," Yugi had wanted to say but couldn't. "If I do… then you'll be sad… I want you to remember who you were… but I don't want you to leave me… I… I don't want to be alone again…"

The teen's stomach churned with agony. He wrapped his arms around his waist as he scrunched his face together in pain.

/Yugi!/ Yami called out anxiously. He placed one phantom hand on the teen's shoulder to show his presence and concern.

Slowly, the discomfort left Yugi's body. Tiredly, he placed his fatigued body back down on his mattress. He turned himself onto his side with his back against his worried friend. He opened his eyes partway as tears fell down his cheeks. However, throughout their time together, he had learned how to keep certain actions and feelings to himself, so he would not worry his companion, who was also a spirit within his body.

"Is that selfish of me for not wanting you to leave? But… but I don't want to be your chain that's pulling you down… so I can't tell you."

Yugi allowed his body and mind to be consumed by exhaustion as he fell back asleep.

The older boy picked up the younger boy's soul remaining strenuous, but he allowed Yugi to rest. The teen was asleep into the night. The moonlight from his window shined through. The light reflected gently off his cherubic face, causing shadows among his blond bangs.

"Yugi… what is bothering you?" Yami questioned. "I want to help you… I can't stand to see you like this… Your friends and family worry about you… I'm worried about you. Is that so wrong of me?"

He tried to recall what the adolescent had said earlier.

"But what did you mean? What journey is it that we all need to walk alone?"

Flashback

Yugi sat in a hospital bed with his deck scattered around. He had recently spent his time receiving treatment for his burns he gained while in the abandoned warehouse right before the start of Battle City. His friends had stopped by to visit earlier and promised to be back the next day.

The teen stared at his Duel Monsters cards with admiration, glad his cards have never failed him before. He was, however, filled with sorrow he needed to construct a new deck.

"Why do we need to add new cards?" Yugi questioned his friend who appeared in his transparent state.

"We need to secure a powerful deck in order for us to stand up to any villain." Yami explained truthfully. "Everyone already knows about our strategy and cards we used in Duelist Kingdom against Pegasus. We need new combinations between magic and monster cards, as well as design new traps for our future opponents."

Yugi closed his eyes and sighed. He did not want to say farewell to all his cards he had created a bond with.

"Saying goodbye is too hard," he mumbled as he had grown attached to certain monsters.

"This may be goodbye," Yami tried to reason, "but this is us creating a new deck and meeting new monsters."

"I guess," Yugi agreed as a tiny smile grew across his face.

The two friends spent some time looking over new cards and possible strategy. They needed to decide upon which ones to keep and which ones to add, which proved difficult. A proper deck needs balance between monsters, magic, and trap cards. The deck also needs harmony from the powerful monsters to lower level monsters with special effects.

Just then, Yugi started to hack a painful cough.

"Yugi!" Yami called out with concern. He remembered the boy's lung had nearly filled with hot smoke from the fire but risked his life to save his friend.

"I'm fine," Yugi answered hoarsely.

Carefully, Yami examine his partner. The young adult appeared well, but his road to recovery would take a while. Because no immediate danger lied anywhere, the construction for the new deck could wait.

"I think we should call this a night." Yami stated. "We can finish in the morning when you have gained a proper night of rest."

Yugi closed his eyes and sighed. He did not want to fall back asleep into darkness. He was too afraid the spirit would disappear.

"Y-Yami." Yugi said nervously.

The pharaoh smiled as he felt the boy's fear.

"I promise I'm not going anywhere," he stated with confidence as he understood.

"Ok," Yugi whispered as he allowed himself to drift off into his sleep.

End flashback

Yami returned to reality noticing his partner tossing and turning in his sleep. A look of complete terror plastered itself on his innocent face. The spirit quickly figured out his light was suffering from a nightmare. He tried to call out Yugi's name with no results.

"Please!" Yugi begged in his sleep. "Don't go! Don't leave me!"

The dark spirit grew baffled why Yugi was yelling such phrases.

"What type of nightmare is this?" Yami pondered perturbed. "Who is it that is leaving him?"

Over time the adolescent would suffer different nightmares. Sometimes there were merely little scary ideas that were common, such as falling into an endless pit, while others involved telling the future. Regardless of what type the nightmares were, the two would talk about it only to realize nothing needed to be feared. Whenever the frightening dream was foretelling a doomed future, the two friends promised to solve the problem and face the villain together. Yami was determined to awake his partner out his anxiety in his sleep.

/Yugi! Wake up!/ he tried once more.

"I don't want to be alone again!" Yugi screamed with fear that pierced through the cold air.

Yami's eyes enlarged. He wanted to know what exactly Yugi meant. He tried even harder to wake up the boy.

/Yugi! It's just a dream! Wake up!/

After waiting for so long to the sound of the teen whimpering, he saw Yugi finally unlocked his pupils. Tears streamed down Yugi's face as he inhaled and exhaled rapidly. He had woken up from the same nightmare he had already suffered through earlier. He coughed, and his whole body ached, as though he was in some sort of physical accident.

/Yugi,/ Yami tried to reach in a calming tone. /It's ok./

The young adult with the puppy dog eyes remained shaken even after taking a few moments to calm down. His eyes overflowed with fear and deep anxiety.

/It's ok,/ Yami tried to sooth. /The nightmare is over./

Tears reformed and rushed down Yugi's cheeks. He buried his face into his legs he pulled together towards himself as he cried in terror, "No… it's not."

Yami became confused about what his lighter half meant.

/Yugi,/ he said gently. /Everything will be all right./

"No!" Yugi screamed with anger and anxiety. "Everything is not all right!"

Yami turned stunned about what his lighter half was yelling.

In between sobs, the teen whispered, "The nightmare isn't over…It's… it's just beginning."

Yami's eyes widened once more. Before he had time to ask, a bright light flashed.

"Yugi!" Yami yelled as he reached for his partner.

When the powerful glimmer diminished, the spirit saw the boy fell safely on his back sleeping, but a new problem had arrived. The older boy quickly noticed how flushed Yugi appeared. He was also wheezing in his sleep. Yami concluded from his time with Yugi in the past the young adult was now suffering from a fever.

"Yugi," Yami whispered as he could only watch his partner deal with a new issue.

Xxx

Yugi found himself walking around what appeared to be a forest. Many trees surrounded the area, and a clean sky rested above. A crystal clear lake was also by his side. He looked at himself and noticed he kept on his pajamas. He placed one hand on his forehead and felt no other physical illness.

"Where am I?" he questioned puzzled.

To be continued…

Chao- Dun dun dun! What does this author plan to do?