"…Yugi?"

My eyes were closed and I was lying down. Had it all been a nightmare? Was it just a horrible dream? But…how could that possibly be? I had never been able to dream in my ghostly state.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I was breathing. I took one of my hands and placed it over my heart. Sure enough, it was beating rhythmically like a drum.

It hadn't all been a dream. It had been real, a living nightmare…I was alive. I was finally my own, complete person…and it came at a time where I no longer wanted it.

I opened my eyes, only to be blinded by the bright white walls around me. I heard an annoying, incessant beeping off to my right. I glanced over at it, only to see a monitor that displayed my heart rate. I had only been in a modern hospital once before, and I had never gotten past the entry way…but I assumed that was where I was.

I noticed for the first time that there was a mask over my nose and mouth. I frowned as my hand flew to it in a frenzied manner. Why was it there? What were the doctors doing to me?

I pulled it off and struggled to sit up. My heart was beating faster and faster as I noticed all of the strange wires and tubes that had been attached to me. Why couldn't I remember being taken to a hospital? Why were all of those strange contraptions attached to me?

I was afraid. Possibly for no reason at all, but still, I was afraid. Everything seemed so unfamiliar and strange that I was having difficulty calming myself.

I soon found that, without the mask, my breathing became more difficult. I frowned as I concentrated on inhaling and exhaling repeatedly. Why was it so hard?

I had so many questions, yet no one was around to answer them…

The door to my room opened and closed. My head snapped up as I looked at the man in the white coat standing there.

"Calm down, son…put that mask back on."

My hand, which was holding the mask, tensed. "Why? What are you doing to me?" I frowned at how hoarse my voice sounded.

I gestured to all of the tubes and wires, and then finally, the mask.

The doctor smiled nervously. "There was a bit of damage done to your esophagus and lungs. That mask was helping you breathe. You can breathe without it, but as I'm sure you have noticed, it is more difficult." When I nodded, he continued. "Those tubes were connected to your blood stream by a needle in order to give you a steady dosage of antibiotics…to fight infection. And as for those wires attached to your chest, well…that's how we can see your heart rate."

He walked over to the heart rate monitor and patted it gently. "Healthy as an ox."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "So…I'm alright?"

The doctor gave me a meaningful look. "Put that mask back on, and you will be. Because of the smoke you inhaled, the amount of oxygen in your blood is lower than normal. Also, you have suffered slight burns in your throat, and your lungs were damaged by the smoke. It will all heal in time."

The smoke…the fire…the unbearable heat…

My eyes dropped down to my hands. "Yugi…" I whispered fearfully.

"Yugi…Yugi Mutou."

I looked back up at the doctor. "Yes?"

The doctor pressed his lips together in a thin line as his expression turned grim. "He is…we did everything in our power…"

I didn't understand. I pulled the needle out of my wrist and flung the tubes aside. I ripped the wires off of my chest and jumped out of bed. The pain didn't matter to me, the fact that breathing was getting harder by the moment didn't matter to me…all that mattered was Yugi.

"Where is he?" I demanded heatedly.

The doctor stared at me in disdain. "Son, you need to calm down…don't make me sedate you…"

"Where is he?" I screamed furiously. "Tell me now!"

He sighed and looked away. "He's in the morgue."

I blinked at him. I had no idea what a morgue was. "Where is that?"

The doctor gave me an incredulous look. "Stop this. Get back in bed, now."

I pushed him aside violently and bolted out of the door. I sprinted down the hallway, reading each sign I came across, waiting to find the one that read 'morgue.' When I found it, it told me to head down to the basement level.

Eyes stared at me as I raced to the stairs and stumbled carelessly down each set until reaching the basement floor. The double doors marked 'morgue' had two windows, revealing a very dimly lit room. I quietly pushed one of the doors open and slipped inside.

The room was silent…frighteningly so, in fact. I tip toed through the room, looking for any sign of Yugi. I saw rows and rows of steel reinforced doors with labels on them. Part of me wanted to peek inside one, just to see what they held…but the other part of me knew that this room wasn't a happy one. This wasn't a room where I would find the news I so wished to hear.

Yet I pressed on. I finally came to what I assumed to be the main room of the morgue: there were a few large metal tables. On one there were scattered tools, on another was something covered in a plain, white sheet, and on another…items…various items that I instantly recognized.

I threw caution to the wind and ran to that table. My hands glided over leather tennis shoes…a blue, Domino High School uniform…a brown backpack…and the Millennium Puzzle.

My hand stopped on the Puzzle. Fear cut deep into my heart as I stared at all of Yugi's possessions. I tenderly picked up the Puzzle and examined it until realization struck me.

I dropped the Puzzle, allowing it to hit the metal table with a sickening clang.

I slowly turned around, the white sheet once again coming into view. I stepped toward it, but my legs felt like they were lead weights. I reached my hand out for the sheet, allowing it to hover over it as I hesitated. My hand started to shake as I allowed my mind to wander.

Eventually, I gritted my teeth and grabbed a handful of the sheet…I pulled it back part way…

I gasped and jumped away from the table. My heart hammered in my chest again and felt as if it were going to burst. Stone cold dread washed over me as I once again approached the form under the sheet. I peeled it back slightly and stared at the face.

It was the sweet cherubic face of a boy who had lost everything…to save me.

I opened my mouth to speak…or maybe it was to scream, but no sound came out. New tears pricked my eyes and I didn't even try to hold them back. I let them fall; I let myself cry in his presence.

I draped myself over his lifeless body and sobbed. It was my fault, it was all my fault…if it hadn't been for me, Yugi would've been fine, walking alongside Téa as they headed to their school…

I once again felt how difficult it was for me to breathe, but I didn't care. Crying seemed to make my breathing even more shallow and painful than before, but I let my tears fall anyway. I had killed my partner, my best friend, my brother…

"I'm sorry, Yugi…I'm so, so sorry…come back, I'll do anything, I swear it!" I choked out another sob and squeezed my eyes shut. "It should've been me…"

"There was nothing we could do."

I didn't look up. I recognized the voice of my doctor, and I instantly tensed. If he wanted me to leave Yugi, he would have to fight me first.

"The damage to his lungs was too extensive…and his esophagus…he would have never been able to breathe on his own again if he had survived. If we had gotten to him a bit sooner, maybe we could've put him on the transplant list, but…I don't know if he would've survived the wait."

I didn't want to hear that. I didn't want to know any of what he was telling me. It only made my guilt intensify. I was the reason he had been in that warehouse, I was the reason he had stayed inside instead of escaping while he had the chance…

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I slowly lifted my head. I gave that doctor the most hate filled glare I could muster up…but even then, I didn't hate him. I hated myself for what I had done to my partner.

"Your grandfather is upstairs waiting for you," the doctor said with a sad frown on his face.

I blinked at him. "My…grandfather?"

He nodded. "Yes, when I told him you were in the hospital, he seemed confused, but once he had gotten a glimpse of you while you were asleep, he seemed to understand…" His frown deepened. "You could almost say that he had no idea you existed…" he shook his head and gave a half-hearted laugh.

I frowned as well. Did Yugi's grandfather understand? Would he blame me for his real grandson's death?

I stood and looked back down at Yugi's face. He looked so peaceful…

I bit my lip and pulled the sheet back over him. I took a deep, shaky breath as I tried to fight another wave of tears. I then broke out into an intense coughing fit that caused me to stagger backward.

The doctor quickly reached me and supported me before I could fall over from the pain and lack of air. He sighed and directed me out of the morgue.

"Breathe in and out…carefully, now…you really shouldn't have taken that mask off…"

I listened to him and I my breathing eventually evened out just as we reached my hospital room.

"How did I get here?" I whispered softly.

The doctor sighed again. "You fainted soon after leaving the warehouse. It was either the shock of what had happened, the low levels of oxygen in your blood, or possibly a combination of the two."

He helped me over to my bed and I lay down. He placed the mask over my nose and mouth again and then inspected the needle and tubes.

"I'll have a nurse come in soon to reinsert this and reattach those wires…" he said, and I could hear the exhaustion in his voice. I winced. I knew that I wasn't being the best patient.

He turned around to leave the room, but he stopped before opening the door. "Visiting hours will be over soon."

I frowned in confusion. Why did I care? No one was going to visit me.

The doctor left, and the room was silent and empty once more…or so I thought.

I heard footsteps, and my head whipped around. When my eyes landed on the short, elderly man that was slowly approaching me, I understood why the doctor had made his last comment.

I reached my hand up for the mask so that I could speak to him, but the old man quickened his pace in time to swat my hand away.

"No, no…I don't need you to speak; I just need you to listen."

The pain in his voice broke my heart more than it already was. I nodded sadly and waited for him to begin.

His eyes wandered over my face for the longest time. I could tell he was imagining that I was Yugi, I could tell that he was pretending that his grandson was still alive.

That soon ceased, however, as we locked glances…he could see that I was not Yugi. Yugi's eyes were wide, childish, and friendly. Mine were dark, pained, and cynical.

"He loved you dearly, and I know you loved him."

Needles pierced my heart.

"You both saved me and the Kaiba brothers from Pegasus. You both were friends with Téa, Tristan and Joey…" he commented.

I frowned. I didn't understand what any of that had to do with anything.

Solomon Mutou smiled at me fondly. "Perhaps I don't know you very well; spirit, but I consider you family. You and Yugi had a lot more in common than your hairstyle."

His words made me smile, even after everything that had happened. If he was comparing me to Yugi, and calling me family, then I was honored.

"I came here to tell you that I want you to be my son, legally."

I blinked at him in utter surprise. Even if he had allowed me to speak, I wouldn't have known what to say. I had been the one that had put his grandson in danger, and I had been the one that his grandson had died to save…

He must've noticed the surprise in my eyes, because his smile faltered a bit. "I know that you must be hurting a great deal, much like I am. You and Yugi had a special bond…a bond that I can never hope to understand." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "I don't blame you for what happened to Yugi, spirit. He wouldn't blame you either, so you must not blame yourself! Yugi's destiny rested with you, all of this must've been predetermined…"

I squeezed my eyes shut as I considered his suggestion. The gods had planned Yugi's death? The gods had decided that I would get to live while he roams the Afterlife? None of it seemed fair, none of it…

"Life isn't fair, my son," Solomon stated as if he could read my thoughts. He stared deeply into my eyes and smiled again. "I would like you to consider it."

He stood up to leave, and once his back was turned, I reached up and removed my breathing mask.

"Would I still be able to call you grandpa?"

He turned around, a surprisingly genuine grin on his face. "Of course."

After he left, I replaced the mask and allowed my head to fall back onto the pillow. Even though I knew I could count on Grandpa to be my family, everything seemed so unclear. I didn't know what to do with my new life. I didn't know how to go on without Yugi…he had been my purpose, my partner.

Yet, even with him gone, I knew that I still had a destiny to fulfill…and I would be doing it alone.