(A/N: I have a confession to make. This chapter is totally different from what I originally planned, but I liked it a thousand times better now. I'm truly terribly sorry for the long wait! I've been working on a small story for a contest and with school beginning this week, I hadn't had the time to work on this -which reminds me that I still have to work on my Klaine fic-. HOWEVER, here it is now! And don't worry, the entire situation and all the mystery that goes on in this will be explained in a further chapter. Maybe next, maybe not. Haven't decided that yet...

WARNINGS: A bit of angst. I made my DA sis cry -totally unintentional!-, so I thought it'd be fair to warn you. Slightly angst!Yami. 'Mini-me', sadly, only appears at the end of the chapter, and it's more like a cameo than an actual appearance. Almost no dialogue, nearly the entire episode is narration. Hopefully, it won't be a bother to you. Please notify me for any OOC-ness, complaints, or suggestions you have! If you catch a grammar typo, please notify me as well.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is not mine. Unfortunately. Oh, and by the way, thanks to all of you for your lovely reviews and amazing support! And no, I haven't had "the talk", and I hope I never do! XD)

Chapter 7

The first time Yami composes a piano tune of his own is also the first time for two of what he thinks will be very special moments in his life—one, it's the first time he's playing the piano ever since… since the accident. His heart cringes at the thought. Yeah, it might be a special moment, but it doesn't mean 'special' in a good way; not necessarily. Yami decides to focus on the second special moment he's about to go through and which only makes him a little less nervous: coming out to his mother.

He has the slightest suspicion his mom knows that he's not attracted to girls. Not that he's ever really said "I don't like girls!" out loud or anything, but he might've made her suspect with all he rambles about Yugi. If his mother knows, she hasn't said anything to trouble Yami. Then again, she might not know. Yami sighs loudly to himself. His father's away with an aunt who suggested he makes a book of poems, and he went with her to discuss what could be done about it. His mother's at the study, a room especially for the piano. At least, now it's especially for the piano. Some few years ago, it was the room of…

Yami shakes his head. It's better for his thoughts if he doesn't remember that.

He knocks on the opened door and steps into the room. "Mom? Do you have a second?"

His mother stops playing and turns to her son. "Oh, Yami—of course, what is it?"

"Are you composing something?"

"Not really," she answers, shaking her head. Yami actually knows his dear mom wasn't composing anything new; the soft tune she was playing just a second ago was the last tune she composed for… before the… Of course he would know why she's playing it today—why she plays it this very day every year. He just wants her to think he's forgotten that tune. It makes it easier for her to believe her family has moved on. But at least, Yami hasn't, and he feels his father hasn't either. Maybe they never will. The doctors and therapists told them that it might take a while before they could, and yet Yami believes they'll never truly be able to do so.

"Did you need something, son?"

Yami nods. "I… I was wondering… if perhaps I could… y'know… compose a tune?" he asks timidly.

Chiyoko Atemu's eyes widen slightly in surprise. It's definitely been a while since her son played the piano. But she just can't say no to Yami—he always loved to play it with her and his… The pianist grabs a hold of her head, painful memories flooding back in a rush. She needs to get away from this room, only for a moment, to regain her posture. "Of course, sweetheart," she tells her worried son, whose sad expression fell even more when she held her head. Chiyoko stands up from the bench and walks away, leaving it all to Yami.

Yami stares at his mother's retreating back while she closes the door behind her. She tries to never show it, but he and his dad can see that this room brings Chiyoko many memories she'd rather forget. At the same time, though, it'd be even more painful for her to forget them, so Mrs. Atemu lives with the sorrow of a room that once belonged to an 8-year-old.

Yami sits on the piano bench, making himself comfortable, which is harder than he expected. It's been what, 6 years since the last time he played this thing? Since the last time he sat here? Yes, that's just about right. To him and his family it's felt like an eternity. Yami doesn't know if he can even play the piano now, after so long, and for once, he'd love to hear 'mini-me' cheering for him, You can do it! It's easy! All you have to do is put your fingers on the keys, and they do the rest by themselves! Come on! But the little fellow is as silent as the room around him. He carefully leans his fingers over the keys, cautiously enough not to actually play them. He closes his eyes, and remembers what brought him here to begin with.

Yugi, although he hasn't realized it, has changed Yami in ways the latter never thought of. After… after the accident, Yami believed he'd never be able to smile again, that nothing would ever make him happy, that he'd grow and spend the rest of his life alone. Those are the only reasons Yami created 'mini-me': a smaller self that would always remain a child; that would keep alive that part of himself that nearly died when the accident happened. But then he met Yugi, and for the first time, he was like 'mini-me.' It was as if he were on a tunnel where he could see nothing—Yugi was the light that showed him the way out. And Yami wanted to keep that feeling forever—to do so, he had to get over the past.

He breathes loudly twice to steady the wild beatings of his heart. Slowly, he applies pressure to the keys with his fingers… and begins to play. Music fills the air, the dark silence breaking underneath the existence of a beautiful tune: an all-new tune that Yami names 'Lovely light.'

Chiyoko listens through the door to the breathtaking melody sweeping across the house while tears run down her face. 6 years go, she and her husband Mamoru thought that their then 11-year-old child would never get over the accident that had shaken their family to its core. The boy stopped playing piano—what he enjoyed doing the most, and he began to hide himself from the rest of the world. Mr. and Mrs. Atemu never talked about it with him; it hurt them too much.

Yet there's that same boy, inside that room, playing the most beautiful tune she's ever heard. And Chiyoko knows he's pouring his heart out into it: it perfectly combines joy with woe, cruelty with kindness—death with life in a creation so perfect and powerful that you can't possibly know if your tears are happy or sad.

She suddenly realizes her baby is finally starting to move on. He's grown up and matured without her or Mamoru's noticing, and she's just so proud of her son that she can barely stand it. Chiyoko would step right into the room if it wasn't for the fact that Yami's fingers are still being carried away by what she thinks is the image of a boy that seems to be always present in her son's mind. It doesn't take a lot more than logic and common sense to acknowledge that Yami Atemu is very much deeply in love with Yugi Mutou. And that, whether or not he sees it, that same love is changing him for the better. Chiyoko only wishes Yami trusts her enough to one day officially confess that he'd like his best friend to be more than that.

Mamoru Atemu comes home in silence, hearing the music as soon as he steps through the front door. At first, he thinks it's his wife who's playing, but then he sees her leaning on the door of the study. It doesn't take long before he puts two and two together—the tears don't take long to fall from his eyes, either. Mamoru is so incredibly happy that he quietly hushes Chiyoko and then stealthily opens the door, careful not to make the sound as they make their way towards their son. They know their silence won't last until Yami finished, because now the young pianist is smiling to himself, eyes closed and head slightly thrown back.

It's one of the first times Mr. and Mrs. Atemu have seen real happiness in Yami's face.

Yami's tune comes to an end with a perfect final note. He inhales through his nose and exhales loudly through his mouth as though a painfully heavy burden has been taken off his shoulders. It was more exhausting than he imagined. He has no idea of how long that was, but he feels like he could play it again a thousand times, even if it's very improbable that he memorized it with just playing it once. In a flash, Yami notices his parents are behind him, and their expressions are heartbreaking: gleeful tears marking salty lines on their cheeks. They've never looked better.

Mamoru and Chiyoko embrace their son—Yami tries to hold it together, but it's too much for him. He breaks down, sobbing in a mixture of relief, weariness, shock, disbelief, and joy. The confession he thought about saying is blurry on his head; he has a feeling that his parents already know why (and to whom) he composed that tune.

"I'm sure Yugi will love this," Mamoru mumbles, one arm around his son and one arm around his wife.

"We are so proud of you, sweetie," Chiyoko whispers, kissing Yami's forehead and caressing his hair. Yami simply nods and says little nothings that have absolutely no meaning.

For the first time in the day, 'mini-me's annoying voice is there on his head again. He's sitting on his shoulder, smiling widely. I knew you could do it, he says. Our parents are not the only ones that are proud of you. Someday, you'll be ready to take me back as part of you. For now, though, I'll always stick around! Yami laughs madly to himself without caring if it'll make Mom and Dad think he's lost it. No matter how cruel his life seemed to be during a long time; the sun's smiling upon his garden again, and Yami knows that, for the time being, life couldn't be better.

He's in love—but most importantly, he's begun to move on and get over the past. It'll still be a long shot before he fully recovers, but he truly believes he's finally walking down the right path.

(A/N: Please tell me what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! I want to make sure I left the ideas crystal clear! If not, don't be afraid to tell me! Thank you, and see you next time! :D)