I just realized that in my haste to post this fic I forgot to do the disclaimer! So here it is:

Yu-Gi-Oh (c) Kazuki Takahashi
This story (c) Me

Yami had been completely silent the rest of the day, just like he had promised. Yugi had gone to bed and woken up the next morning without hearing a peep. He was about to get up and get something to eat, when something struck him. "Yami," he said. Yugi felt a strange sensation in his abdomen, as if Yami had jumped with surprise.

"Yugi?" Yami asked. "Is… is something wrong? I—"

"No, nothing's wrong. But I wanted to ask you something," Yugi admitted.

Yami hesitated for a bit. "Go right ahead."

"You're in my stomach, right?"

"That is correct."

"Well, what will happen to you if I eat? I mean, you might not now this, but that's where the food goes after it goes into my mouth."

"What's… 'eating'?" Yami asked curiously. "Is it like drinking? I've heard of that."

Yugi smiled a bit. This Karish was so naïve to the things of the world. It was kind of cute. "It's a bit like drinking. But I can't just drink, I have to eat too. Food is more solid than anything that I'm going to drink, though. It could hurt you."

Yami thought it over. "No one who's come before me has mentioned anything about this… but if humans need to eat to survive, then you'd have to do it or we'd both die. If something's wrong, then… I'll let you know. Is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine. You don't have to be completely silent, you know. You can ask me about something if you want to know."

"Really?" Yami asked. He sounded excited. "I've always wanted to know more about the human world, but I never wanted to impose upon anyone to find out…"

Yugi laughed out loud. "That would have been a bit difficult to avoid."

Yami was quiet for about two seconds, and then he came with a bunch of questions. "Yugi, how do you stand?"

"What?" Yugi asked incredulously. "Oh, that's right… you've never done it."

"And what exactly do you eat, and how do you do it? Why do you make those strange noises when you sleep? How do you talk with your mouth? How do humans mate?"

Yugi blushed a violent crimson at the last question. "Let's… start with the first question, alright?" Yugi sat up and put his feet on the floor. "First you have to put these things on the ends of your legs onto the ground." Yami was following his every word with undivided attention. "Then you have to push yourself onto your legs and balance there." ThenYugi demonstrated.

"That's amazing…" Yami observed. "I wish I could do that…" He realized his error too late. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Do you want to try?" Yugi offered. "I mean, what if we meet one of your friends who's taken over another human? You'll have to be in control or they'll be suspicious. And you can't do that if you don't know how to stand, eat, or talk."

"… Alright," Yami said finally. "Can you sit back down first?"

Yugi sat onto the bed and relinquished control of his body to Yami. The Karish was tense and Yugi left his form he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Just relax," Yugi coached. "Don't try to stand yet; just experiment with the limbs at first."

Yami moved his arms to his side and swung his legs back and forth. After a few moments, Yami pressed his feet against the ground. "I think I am ready to start, Yugi."

"Alright, put your arm on the nightstand for support." Yami placed his hand lightly on the stand beside him, hoping that it was the correct object. "Slide forward until you think you're about to fall, and then push up with your legs and arm."

Sliding? Falling? Yami decided that if he was going to make a fool of himself, he should try to get it over with. He leaned forward and pushed up, and suddenly he found himself looking balanced precariously on his two stick-like legs. He swayed and grabbed tightly onto the nightstand to keep himself from hitting the floor. Maybe that was what falling was.

In his mind, Yami heard the sound of something hitting something else and a shrill squeak.(1) "Great job! You're standing!" Yami smiled instinctively, and then he realized how odd it was.

"What did I just do with my mouth?" Yami asked.

Yugi thought about it for a moment. "Well, I think you were 'smiling'. It's something your mouth does when you're happy."

Yami let Yugi take back over and merely observed as Yugi brushed his hair and teeth and poured himself some cereal. Yugi's grandpa walked into the kitchen. "Hello, Yugi. How did you sleep?"

"Good," Yugi answered. "I think I snored," he added, remembered what Yami had said about the sounds he made while he slept. He didn't want Grandpa to know about Yami just yet. He wouldn't understand. Yugi himself didn't understand completely.

"It's Sunday, so I'm taking the day off," Grandpa said. "If you've finished all your homework, you should do the same. You work too hard for your age, Yugi."

Yugi blushed. "I just want to make you proud, Grandpa."

"You do make me proud, Yugi," Grandpa said, putting his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Your parents, rest their souls, would be proud of you too."

Yugi smiled and Grandpa went back into his room. Yami nudged a bit on Yugi's mind. "My parents are dead too, Yugi. My mother died about seven years ago, but my father died when I was just five years old. He refused to take a human body and…" Yami stopped.

Yugi did a quick calculation. "You said that Karish take human bodies when they're seventeen?" he asked. "He would have only been twelve years old when you were born!"

"Yes, I know. It's unusual for a Karish to procreate so early in life, but it's possible. Our bodies develop differently than yours."

"… How long do Karish live?"

"Maybe ninety or a hundred years. Do humans live longer?"

"Eighty to ninety years on average," Yugi answered. "Not much longer. Usually humans give birth in their twenties and thirties."

Yami paused for a bit, looking through Yugi's eyes. "That substance in the bowl… that is food?"

"Yes," Yugi said, stirring his cereal around a bit. "Are you ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be," Yami said, and Yugi felt him brace himself. Yugi put the cereal into his mouth, chewed as much as possible, and then swallowed. They waited for a moment while the food traveled down Yugi's esophagus. "This is… this is wonderful!" he exclaimed loudly. The noise echoed through Yugi's head, giving him a throbbing pain in his forehead. "It feels like I'm in the hot jets of the Great Sea! There is more of that, isn't there?"

Yugi grinned and continued to eat. "Try not to talk that loudly, okay? It makes my head hurt."

"I'm sorry," Yami apologized. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's no big deal, really. You've been a lot nicer to me than most humans," Yugi admitted. "I like talking with you."

Yami almost shimmied in delight. He was speaking to a human, and they were getting along! "I like talking with you too, Yugi. Maybe it's a part of my upbringing, but I always expected humans to be… different."

"Are you saying that we're not different?"

"In body, yes, of course we are. But we don't think very differently, like I told you earlier. I didn't know what humans were like, but I thought you would be angrier with me."

"I'm not angry, Yami. I understand that you were in a difficult position back in your world. But I was too. I don't have many friends… actually, I don't have any friends at all. I wanted someone who wouldn't judge me, who would relate with me… and then I found you. We've really helped each other, and I hope that we can be friends."

Yami was shocked. Friends with a human? It had been his dream ever since he was a little child, and it was finally coming true. Now he'd been able to learn everything about human culture. "I will play my part, Yugi."

It was Monday morning and Yugi was on his way to school. Yami had spent a good deal of time asking questions and experimenting with Yugi's body. He had learned how to walk and speak, and he had learned all about the educational system and how much most people hated it. Yugi had even tried to explain the sense of smell to Yami, but he couldn't really understand.

Yugi had skipped from period to period, spending most of his time and energy explaining the subjects to Yami. They didn't have algebra and biology in the Great Sea. Yami always asked the purpose of learning the information, and Yugi didn't have a good explanation at first. But at last Yugi had concluded that the government wanted everyone to have a good base of information, so that they'd be a little prepared for any field they wanted to excel in.

They entire concept seemed sketchy to Yami, since the only professions the Karish had were elders (history teachers), administrators (who kept track of the Karish due to travel to Dry Land), and food gatherers. They didn't have very advanced civilization, which was easy to understand because they didn't have opposable thumbs.

Now it was time to leave for home. Yugi felt a twinge of extra fear. Joey and Tristan always kicked him in the stomach—what if they hurt Yami in some way? He had to find some way of getting out of it, for Yami's sake… but how?

If he tried to go home, then Joey and Tristan would just follow him and pull him out of his bed in the middle of the night. He wasn't allowed to just stay in the school forever. The only option left was to stand up to them.

Shaking, Yugi grabbed his backpack and walked out the front door. He had to be strong now. "Back for more, are ya?" Joey asked. He was resting against the school building, looking at Yugi with a superior smirk. "Ya just can't get enough."

"Stop it," Yugi commanded. "Just stop it right now! Everything you're doing is making you look stupid and weak!"

"Weak? You think we're the ones who are weak?" Tristan asked incredulously. "We've beaten you up every day since you came to this high school."

"People… who have to resort to violence to work out their issues have no self-discipline!" Yugi declared. "I dare you to try and act like normal people for once… then you'd realize how hard it is!"

"You think you're stronger than us because you grin and bear it every day?" Tristan said. "You're… you're crazy, squirt."

But Joey and Tristan walked off, apparently uninterested in their punching bag now that it had grown a spine. Yugi released a breath he was holding and crouched low to the ground, holding his head. He had finally done it. Thanks to Yami he had gotten the courage to stand up to his enemies and break free. Now he didn't have to be afraid anymore.

(1) In case no one got that, Yugi was clapping and whistling.