A/N: Second to last chapter. Only the epilogue remains.

Chapter 6:

Farewell

A bottle of half emptied hard liquor and that morning's newspaper covered the kitchen counter in front of Atemu. His hair was uncombed and unruly. His shirt was horribly creased and equally stained. His eyes were blood shot.

A loud frantic pounding noise from the door awoke him from his half dazed sleep. He almost yelled for the butler to get the door until he remembered what he wasn't at Mazaki Mansion. He hadn't been home in days… not since that night. He vaguely remembered marching out the door and asking for a room at nearby hotel. The pounding continued. Atemu cursed. He pushed back from the table and stumbled to the door. He hoped it wasn't housekeeping. Instead, three lanky young men one of whom was the last person Atemu had expected to see were standing in the doorway.

"Jounouchi-kun, Kaiba-kun, Bakura-san?" Atemu blinked.

The blonde immediately step forward. His nose turned upward. "You look awful."

Atemu blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What are you doing here is the better question," Jounouchi stated. He walked forward and grabbed the unsteady Atemu around the waist. Atemu blinked confused.

"Bachelor party," Kaiba stated. He crossed his arms.

Atemu blinked. His eyes widened. "Although looking at the state you're in, you seemed to have partied without us," Jounouchi jokingly noted. He looked around the ramshackle hotel room.

Kaiba sighed. Jounouchi was never the brightest. He lightly pushed Jounouchi aside. Atemu turned as Kaiba entered the room. "Get us something to drink, inu."

"I'm not your servant," Jounouchi puffed up, yet he still complied. Atemu blinked as Jounouchi left the room. Atemu guessed that they had brought more drinks which were sitting in the car. Bakura coughed a little uneasily. Only then did Atemu notice that Bakura was holding two large envelopes. Bakura fidgeted a little embarrassed. "Sorry."

Atemu blinked. "Are those… the…"

"Yeah." He held one of the envelopes out. Atemu hesitated to take the envelope. A week ago he would have given anything to see the contents in the envelope. Just now as Bakura presented them to him; Atemu did not know whether he wanted to know. When Atemu didn't take it, Bakura lightly stuffed into his hand. He stepped back. "And then there's this," Bakura stated holding a much larger and fatter envelop. "My father is on the admissions committee for Cairo UV. He figured you would want this now," Bakura stated sympathetically. Atemu blinked; his face still blank. Bakura pressed the envelope in his hand. He bit his lips when Atemu didn't move to open either envelope. "I, I better go." Bakura turned.

"Wait," a word left Atemu's lips before he had realized he had spoken. Bakura turned around. "Thank you." Bakura nodded before disappearing.

"Well," Kaiba's voice cut through the silent hotel room. Only then did Atemu realize that Kaiba was still in the room and had witnessed the exchange. Atemu turned around. "Are you going to open them?"

Atemu sighed. He collapsed on the couch beside Kaiba. The envelopes were still in his hand. "What's the point? I'm marrying Anzu tomorrow. I've been banned from seeing Yuugi ever again. The contents of these letters don't matter anymore. I'll be CEO of Mazaki Corp. after tomorrow." Kaiba sighed. Atemu noticed a look of genuine sympathy appeared on Kaiba's face.

"You're a grown man. You have a choice. I know what it means to not have a choice. My position was the same as yours with Kaiba Corp. Turns out I was meant to run a corporation while you…"

The sounds of Jounouchi running into the room with box full of liquor cut off Kaiba's words. "Let's party!" Jounouchi grinned oblivious to the cold atmosphere in the room.

A small smile escaped Atemu's lips. He dropped the envelopes on the table. The contents could wait. "Okay."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later a drunk Atemu helped an equally drunk Kaiba carry Jounouchi to Kaiba's waiting limo. Once both Kaiba and Jounouchi were in the car, Atemu reached for the door to the close it. Kaiba pulled on the other's arm. "You can still change your future." Atemu's hand slid from the car door. He watched as the limo disappeared down Domino's streets. He stood on the street for a long while. It wasn't until much later when the first rays of sunlight peaked through the roof tops of the hotel that Atemu stumbled back into the room.

The two large envelopes glared back at him. He cursed and picked one up. The loud rip of paper from paper echoed throughout the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Atemu didn't remember dressing himself or walking to the hotel where the wedding ceremony was taking place. He vaguely remembered a string of flashes that he assumed were the media that had gathered for pre-wedding photos. He only remembered being saved when a strong arm grabbed him.

"Man, I never knew best man duties were this difficult." Jounouchi blinked and then cringed when he heard the loud thud that followed. His eyes widened when he noticed that Atemu had collapsed on the floor. Only then did Jounouchi notice the mismatched buttons on the other's shirt and the crooked tie. "Anzu will murder us both if she sees you like this," Jounouchi hissed. He immediately dragged the unconscious Atemu onto a bench and then pulled out his cellphone.

Within moments Kaiba appeared with a bottle of smelling salts. "I see you can't do anything without me." Jounouchi shook his head before pressing the bottle in front of Atemu's nose. Immediately the other jerked awake, his eyes were redder than normal. "Whhat?" Atemu moaned. His breath was saturated with alcohol. He blinked. As Jounouchi and Kaiba's forms became clearer, a simple 'fuck' left his lips.

"Get him some coffee and whatever breakfast pastry is available," Kaiba immediately stated.

Jounouchi blinked. "Coffee?"

"Yes, he's going to need the caffeine." Jounouchi blinked. He was worried about his friend, and he had a sneaking suspicion that Kaiba knew more than he was saying. 'Old habits die hard," Jounouchi thought as he left the room. The moment the door closed, Kaiba immediately slapped Atemu on the cheek. Atemu groaned. He blinked again as if he didn't recognize Kaiba.

"When I started my relationship with Katsuya, the board wanted to replace me. They couldn't accept a nonstrategic marriage. Only then did I realize the importance of Kaiba Corp. The future isn't static; you can still change it."

"Kai…Kaiba-kun?"

"There was a time when I thought we would be business rivals in addition to dueling rival." Kaiba looked over at Atemu and simply nodded. A small smile appeared on Atemu's face. He too nodded. It would be a long day.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Atemu watched as the guests started showing up at two thirty. Most of the guests were his father's high class friends. Very few of Atemu and Anzu's friends were invited. He was glad Jounouchi was his best man. He was glad his father had not insisted on a more strategic best man.

When the music started playing, and Anzu appeared in her long flowing white dress with a bouquet of red roses, the years seemed to have disappeared. She seemed to float towards him. Her face was radiant and beautiful. She seemed genuinely happy. Atemu smiled. The past few days' events seemed to have disappeared.

However when the ceremony started, Atemu's smile slowly turned into a frown. Anzu, who all her life was sensible and aware of her surroundings, immediately noticed. She touched Atemu's arm. The other looked up. He seemed so sad.

"Do you?"

"I… Anzu."

The girl nodded; a small bittersweet smile appeared on her face. "I know. I have always known."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have been more honest."

"Me too."

And Atemu fled…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

He did not know how he ended up at Domino Hospital. When he saw the words, he felt as if all the strength had disappeared from him inside of him. He never considered what he was going to say. He even wondered if they would let him enter the hospital again, or if they had installed sensors to alert the guards of his presence.

But when stepped into the elevator and heard the familiar ping that signaled his arrival to the tenth floor, his nerves seemed to have returned. In place of the nervous and anxious look, a determined look replaced it.

He marched down the corridor. When he pulled open the door, he wondered if fate was playing another cruel joke with him or if it was a blessing in disguise. Instead of Yuugi being alone in the room, his parents, grandfather and even doctors were in the room.

"What are you doing here? Haven't you caused enough harm already? He's sick can't you see?" Yuugi's mother had recovered from the initial shock first. She was a strong woman.

"He's not sick."

"What! That's ridiculous." Yuugi's father stated. He crossed his arms.

"I'll remove him at once," the doctor said.

"No wait," Sugoroku frowned. Atemu was suddenly glad the other man was there. After his initial meeting was the man and from all the stories Yuugi told him of his grandfather, he knew the elder man was different from his son and daughter-in-law. "Let the boy speak."

"But Father."

"I don't believe Atemu would want to cause harm to Yuugi."

"He's not sick."

"How do you know?"

Atemu removed the letter from his pocket. "I got a second opinion. He ran some tests. Yuugi is not sick."

"I… I'm not sick," Yuugi's voice cut through the air. Only then did the people in the room remember the little boy was in room. Yuugi's mother looked quizzically between her son and Atemu. For a faint second, Atemu wondered if he saw hope in the older woman's face. For once, Atemu could not hate her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When he finally arrived home, Atemu wasn't surprised to find his personal belongings outside the mansion's gate. His adoption was always a strategic decision. He was raised to be the heir to Masaki Corp. He knew when he ran away during the wedding that he could never return. The butler was standing beside his things. Atemu had known him almost all his life, but even if his life depended on it Atemu could not recall the elder man's name.

Atemu noticed an uneasy and embarrassed expression was on the man's face when he appeared. "The master has instructed me to bring you to your new dwelling and to give you this." He handed Atemu a large enveloped. It had his father's seal on it. Atemu nodded and placed the envelope into his coat pocket.

His things were packed into the back of the limo, and they drove to a fancy hotel. Masaki-san was a man who could never bear to lose face. Atemu would always carry the Masaki name and that meant he would reside in a fancy hotel. After his things were removed, only then did Atemu realize he would never see this man whose name he couldn't even remember nor would he ever return to the life he knew. He watched as the limo pulled away and wondered if he should have asked for the butler's name or said something to the other who had served him all his life.

But it was too late.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The letter contained instructions, the date and time for the press conference. It also contained a script of how he would humbly step down as heir of Masaki Corp. His father's lawyers had concocted a story of how he was unfit to be heir of Masaki Corp. It was a story interlaced around trauma, health problems and stress. It also noted that Anzu was too young to get married. Oddly enough the story was not far from the truth.

Atemu felt like an overstuffed penguin when he was marched into the press conference. Masaki Corp's board members were all present. His father and mother were there too. Anzu was not. Atemu wasn't surprised. He had read the New York Times and saw an ad for the newest Broadway Musical. The lead dancer was Anzu. It made him a little happier that he hadn't doomed Anzu.

He recited the script flawlessly while the camera's flashed, and video cameras recorded his statements. He answered the questions with brevity and with precision. When he glanced over at Masaki-san, he momentarily wondered if he had ever made him proud.

When he went back to his hotel room, he noticed he had missed a call. Just as he was checking who had called, his phone rang again.

"Hello."

"Atemu-kun?"

Atemu blinked; the person on the other end was the last person he had expected to receive a call from.

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Yeah."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Yuugi was already standing at the street corner waiting for him when he had arrived. He was leaning against the wall of a magazine shop. He was wearing a black t-shirt and long baggy jeans. He looked anxious and a little hesitant. Atemu couldn't blame the boy. The outside world was a new place for him.

"Hi."

"Hi."

It was an awkward exchange. Neither knew what to say to the other. "I," Yuugi blushed. "Thanks for coming."

"Yeah."

"I heard about you wedding and about Mazaki Corp."

"It was awkward."

"What you going to do now?"

"Live my life." Atemu chuckled. Only when the words left his lips, did he realize how free he actually was. Yuugi smiled too. Atemu looked down at the other. Although he looked genuinely happy, there seemed to be something eating away at the boy. "Want to get something to eat?"

"Hamburger?" Yuugi's eyes seemed to light up.

Atemu laughed. "To Burger World."

Burger World was less crowded than the first time they went. They found a booth in the far back of the restaurant. It was dimly lit, and they could barely see each other. They made small conversation initially. Yuugi told him about how furious his parents were after he left the hospital that night. They were planning to sue Domino Hospital. His parents got him a dog soon afterwards. It was a small white dog. He was living with his grandfather. His parents were away on business again. Then somehow one thing led to another, and Atemu told Yuugi about his father disowning him, and how Anzu refused to take over the company. She wasn't a businesswoman and could never be one. Yuugi responded at the correct moments, and by the end Atemu felt as if a thousand bricks had been removed.

They left Burger World well after the last customer had left. When they left, their table with covered with empty milkshake glasses. It was a long walk. Neither of the boys knew where they were going. Atemu pointed out some more stores that hadn't shown Yuugi the first time. Yuugi only would nod. He kept his hands in his pockets. He was always smiling, but it was a sad smile. Somehow they arrived at the park again. They sat on a small bench by the pond this time. A street lamp cast a warm glow on their bodies.

"There still aren't any ducks."

"I think they go to sleep at night."

Yuugi nodded. He then bent down and started looking at his fingers.

"Yuugi."

"Yes."

"Is something wrong?"

"Is that the north star?"

Atemu blinked. He looked over at Yuugi. Only then did he notice the faint trace of hasty wiped away tears on the boy's face. He wasn't even pointing at the sky. Atemu wondered if the boy was even looking at the few stars that had managed to shine through the heavily air polluted sky.

"I don't think so."

"Atemu-kun?" Yuugi's voice seemed to crack when he said the other's name.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you marry Anzu?" It was a simple question, and he knew Yuugi didn't mean any harm. But for Atemu, it was a hard question to answer. There was the obvious answer but with it came the harder response. He looked over at Yuugi. The lamp light was casting a warm glow over the boy's face. It softened his already youthful appearance. Atemu felt his throat hitch. A feeling he thought had gone away seemed to have merely awoken from dominancy.

"I couldn't."

"I thought you liked her."

"I did too. She was the first person to care about me after my mother. We spent our lives together, but it was only after she went away to New York that I realized the distance between us."

"She wasn't angry?"

"No, she understood. We both knew it would have been a doomed marriage. She would have gone through with it, and we both would have been unhappy. I think it helped us both."

"Atemu-kun? Do you like someone else?" It was another simple question. Atemu blinked. He glanced over at Yuugi. He bit his lips. He looked at him with a determined look. It was hard look. Not the face of that happy boy that he met that fateful day so long ago.

Atemu wondered if he should lie. A day earlier or even a moment earlier he might have said no, yet sitting under the street light with the warm summer air touching his skin; he felt as a cage filled with butterflies had been released from within him.

His mind was telling him it was wrong. He couldn't. It would ruin everything. Atemu smiled bitterly and simply shook his head.

"Oh," Yuugi whispered. He immediately looked away, but Atemu caught the hurt in the boy's eyes. He immediately grabbed Yuugi's hand that laying on the bench. The boy turned around.

"No, I mean. I thought I didn't. There was a time when I thought everything in the world was wrong. That life was unfair. I couldn't understand why some people were dealt with more than they could handle while for others everything came almost simply or naturally. I wanted to lash out at the world. I hated everything and cared for nothing until I met you."

"Me?"

Atemu picked up the boy's hand. It was so small and so pale compared his own hand. He drew Yuugi's hand to his chest. The boy followed. Yuugi bit his lips a little confused. His big shiny amethyst eyes blinked. Atemu leaned closer. Their lips inches apart. He could feel Yuugi's breath. It seemed to have quickened. Atemu leaned closer, and Yuugi closed his eyes.

His lips closed over Yuugi's. The boy's lips were chapped and inexperience much like his own was. It was a clumsily kiss, but Yuugi didn't pull away. Only when he tasted the salt and felt the liquid on his cheeks did Atemu pull away. He looked down at the boy. Tears stained Yuugi's face. Immediately Atemu regretted his actions. He released Yuugi's hand, and immediately stood up. "I… I'm sorry. I should go."

"No…" it was small voice. "Please don't." Atemu looked down. Seeing Yuugi's pained face he wondered if he was hearing things. "Please don't. It's not… what you think." Yuugi grabbed Atemu's jacket with a grip Atemu did not know he had. Atemu nodded and sat down. "I'm sorry. I… I wanted it too for a long time. I even dreamt about. I wanted it more than… than even this." Yuugi glanced at his surroundings.

"Yuu… Yuugi?"

"You once asked me what I wished for. Was I wrong for not saying you? Back then I thought the best I could get was a day with you." Atemu blinked unable to believe what the other was saying, but he understood life. Life never gave out gifts and awards for free. There was always a price. "When Jii-chan told me you called off the wedding, I was happier than the day I found out I could leave the hospital forever. I thought we could at least have fun together and that was enough."

"We can."

Yuugi looked up. A sad smile appeared on his face. Slowly he shook his head. "When I called to meet up with you today, I never knew this would happen. I never dreamt it would happen. I called you to tell you good-bye. My parents want to take me to America with them. They want to build a family relationship." Atemu felt the grip on his shirt tighten. Yuugi looked at him; his face hardened. "But I won't go. I want to…" Atemu shook his head and lightly touched Yuugi's lips with his fingers.

"No. You can't. You're still young. You haven't seen the world. You haven't made friends."

"You're enough!"

Atemu smiled. "Me, I'm nothing anymore. I'm not even Masaki Atemu anymore. I can't give you what your parents can."

"You gave me my life, my freedom," Yuugi exclaimed; fresh tears appeared on his face.

"And I give it to you again."

"I don't…"

"Oh little Yuugi. You're so young and naïve. I love you with all my heart and because of that. I set you free again." Atemu slowly removed Yuugi's hand from his shirt. He stood up and walked away. He heard Yuugi's sobs. When he felt that he had walked far enough away to not run back and say he was lying, only then did Atemu turn around. He watched Yuugi cry on the bench. He walked the boy eventually stand up. He thought he heard the boy yell something into the sky, but he was too far away to hear what the boy had said. He watched Yuugi run away, away from him and to his future.

"Good bye Yuugi." Atemu muttered. He sighed as he slipped his hands into his jacket pocket. His hands felt something large and hard. As he drew the object out, he noticed it was a letter. Only then did he remember he never opened the other letter Bakura had given him that night.

Under the light of the moon, Atemu opened the letter. The letter that contained his future…

-TBC-

A/N: Please review.