Bitter, Sweet, Cold

Yami's eyes shot open as his internal alarm clock shoved him into the morning. He quickly got dressed in black pants and a red button down shirt and rushed into the kitchen.

"Morning Yami," chirped Yugi, as he tackled Yami with a hug. Yami gently put his arms around him. "Good morning, little one. Sleep well?" "Like every other night," Yugi replied as he walked back to the counter to finish his breakfast.

"Yugi."

"Yes, Yami."

"If you leave any later than this you'll be late for school again"

"Ah, you're right!" Yugi shoved the remainder of his toast into his mouth and grabbed his books. "All right, let's go!" Yami chuckled lightly, "You forgot your math book again." "Oh, right" He briskly snatched his book from Yami and hurried out the door.

"Hey Yami! Hey Yugi!" Yami looked to his right and saw Anzu walking towards them. "Mourning Anzu," they replied.

"Thank goodness it's Friday."

"You can say that again."

"Thank goodness it's Friday Yugi!" Everyone turned to see Honda and Joey traveling up the busy street to meet them.

"Hey guys!"

"We still on for tonight?"

"Of course, it's Friday game night."

"Every Friday baby," yelled Joey.

"And this time, Yami, I'll beat you in a game." Yami scoffed. Everyone but Yami broke out laughing. Honda put his hand on Joey's shoulder. "You've got a long way to go buddy." "I don't think he'll ever catch up," giggled Anzu. "Hey what's the big idea, I can take him!" Joey ranted as he began to jump around with his limbs flailing in the air.

"I think Kaiba-kun is going to let Mokuba come over this time!"

"Ah, so the stuck up twit is finally letting his brother have a life, eh."

Yami frowned, "He is simply doing his duties. It's his job to look after his brother."

"Just go ahead and defend him Yami, you know you agree with me."

Yami sighed, "I do not. His brother has a life it just doesn't involve you."

The group broke out laughing at Yami's comment, as Joey lurched forward in an attempt to knock Yami off his feet but was held back by Honda. Yami remained silent the rest of the way. He didn't know why but he just wasn't happy. It wasn't even that, it was just he couldn't be happy. Ever since he got his own body, it was like this. It just wasn't the same. It didn't hit him all at once and at first he thought he was home sick but he slowly started to lose his ability to feel happy. Dueling didn't make him glad, the gang left him feeling hollow, and even Yugi couldn't bring life to his eyes. They contained nothing.

He also realized it wasn't just him when, he found out he couldn't feel warmth. It had been 90°F out and he had sat on the bench, as the gang played in the park, shivering in a jacket and pants. He remained frozen. He once stuck his hand over a candle to test his theory. He felt the pain but not the burn. He was cursed.

Finally, the gang arrived at school and stopped by the gate to finish chatting. As he listened to them, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. He felt something odd flood his system that almost caused him to cry out. He looked around slightly with a bewildered expression. "Yami are you alright?" Yami turned towards the voice to find concerned eyes staring back at him. Realizing his blunder, he gave Yugi a soft fake reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired." The boy looked at him unconvinced.

"Okay, you just looked…distant."

"I'm fine; now off you go before you're late for class."

Yugi was about to protest when he was swooped away by the others. "Bye Yami, see you later tonight!" He watched as they entered the building and then turned around and headed for home.