I appreciate all the comments from you guys! I will make the chapters longer; it's just really hard to write a long story that doesn't have much action or dialogue.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! , Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

I should really get someone to do that for me.

Kindred Spirits

Chapter II: Similar Reflections

Yusei turned at the baritone voice. He was expecting a large, hulking man behind him, and was surprised to see that the man was in fact rather short. The first thing he noticed was the hair; a star shaped mass of black with crimson fringe, the foreword bangs, golden and shaped like bolts of lightning, stuck out at odd angles. The sheer mass of the man's hair was shocking enough alone; even Crow only had about half the amount of hair that this guy did. 'Even less than that', Yusei thought.

The second thing he saw was the man's eyes. Shards of violet glass that Yusei was sure at a glance could stare into his very soul. The man's pupils interestingly enough were white, and contrasted oddly with his brown skin.

The third thing was his attire. The golden bands adorning his arms and legs suggested royalty as did the earrings, ornate cape, and head band that wrapped around his bare forehead.

It took Yusei several seconds to register that the thing on the man's head was, in fact, his natural hair. In Satellite, Yusei had often been teased for being a "Crab-head" as a child, but this hair reached a whole different level of weird. Yusei remembered his manners, and brought his gaze away from the other's hair, to look at him in the eyes. He responded;

"Hello."

The other man seemed to smile slightly before he extended a hand to Yusei. The signer saw only kindness in the man's eyes, and the gesture alone seemed rather common for someone Yusei assumed was royalty. He clasped the man's hand, and was again surprised at the man's strength as he was helped up by the man.

"What's your name?"

"Fudo Yusei. And yours?"

"My name is Atem."

Atem paused for a moment before shaking hands with Yusei. The man's name took him off guard. Just hearing the name made him think of Yugi. He stared at the man who didn't really look like Yugi at all. Yusei had black hair that was spiked upwards in the sides as well as the back of his head, making him appear to have horns. There were streaks of light orange in the top four horns that continued to the center of his head, in the shape of distorted lightning bolts, while the bottom two were simply black. He had bangs that extended past his ears, and his hair went down to the center of his neck in the back, individual ends poking out from behind.

Yusei had ocean blue eyes that were full of life. Atem noted that their eyes were similar in shape, but Yusei had black pupils to his white ones. There was a jagged yellow mark on the right side of his face. It was divided into two parts; a small triangle below the corner of Yusei's right eye, and to the left of that was a line that started from the center of his lower eyelid, going straight down his face before curving inwards and then veering towards the side of his lower jaw. Atem wondered what it meant.

Yusei wore a black sleeveless top with a circular red symbol on the front of it. He had snug fitting blue jeans and wore boots as well as red knee pads. His jacket was mostly blue with matching circular shoulder, elbow, and wrist pads. He had brown gloves, and his duel disk appeared similar to the ones in the Battle City tournament. On his right arm was a symmetrical red mark that looked like a grinning dragon head.

"Give me a minute." Yusei turned and stooped to adorn his gloves and gauntlet, before re-attaching his duel disk to the gauntlet. He slung the jacket over his shoulder before he asked Atem;

"Where are we?"

"I was told that this was the afterlife for the ancient people of Egypt, but it appears that you are an exception. How did you get here?"

Yusei appeared to think for a moment before responding;

"I died. I fell to my death, and … I guess my dad sent me here after I met him"

"Could you explain how this all happened?"

Yusei chuckled humorlessly. "It's a long story. Who are you exactly?"

Atem grinned. "I'm an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh on his way to the afterlife." His voice appeared to be pleading as he then asked; "Could you please tell me why you are here?"

Yusei found that he couldn't refuse Atem's request. There was something in the man that Yusei found likeable, and he didn't want to disappoint the other. As the two began to walk in the direction Atem indicated, Yusei explained the conflict between the Signers and the Dark Signers, as well as his father's involvement with the first Momentum project. He found that Atem would listen for a majority of the story before asking questions about the smaller events surrounding Yusei's life in general, as it was tied to the Signer's current predicament.

Yusei wound up telling Atem about his early childhood in Satellite, his involvement in Team Satisfaction, Kiryu's arrest, Jack's betrayal, the duels between them that resulted from it, and Godwin's Fortune Cup Tournament. He also had to explain who Aki, Crow, Rua, Ruka, and Kiryu were, respectively. Atem apparently found Yusei's description of Jack to be very amusing for some reason as he chuckled when Yusei mentioned that the former Duel King wore a long coat and that Jack's ace was a dragon.

Yusei summed up his duel with Rudger, and explained how his father saved him afterwards. He asked Atem how the Pharaoh ended up in the afterlife, and Atem burst out into full fledged laughter before turning to the tail Signer.

"It's a longer story."

Regardless, he felt compelled to explain his story to Yusei. He never thought someone that far in the future would ever believe his story, but then again, if dueling on speeding D-Wheels, and being swallowed by a giant Crimson Dragon were normal exercises for the dueling champion of Neo-Domino, Atem figured Yusei would at least listen to him.

As Atem mentioned his experiences he noticed Yusei was silent the entire time. When he finished his story, Yusei didn't ask him much. The questions he asked were rather simple and if he wasn't from the distant future, Atem would have been surprised by the questions asked. Yusei didn't know that Pegasus created Duel Monsters, or that the first founder of Kaiba Corp was Gozaburo Kaiba. Not even that Yugi was the first King of Games. Then again Atem didn't know what a D-Wheel or a Synchro Monster was.

Concerning the invention of the D-Wheel, Atem thought it was rather practical when compared to dueling on the top of a train or a blimp. A little over the top, yes, but Kaiba Corp technology always was like that. Atem told Yusei about his shadow game with Thief King Bakura, where both participants rode horses, and Yusei seemed mildly amused.

"It could have been the first riding duel.", the Signer said, shrugging.

The two continued their trek until they reached another river. It was very wide, and neither could see the opposite bank. Their method across was a small wooden boat with two oars. Yusei insisted that Atem be in the front of the boat due to his status as Pharaoh, and Atem in turn insisted that they both row. The boat barely fit the two of them, and Yusei had to bend his knees for the Pharaoh to be comfortable. Atem thanked him, but said it was unnecessary.

"For a Pharaoh, he certainly isn't used to being doted on.", thought Yusei

The two rowed for several minutes until Atem voiced his thoughts aloud.

"I don't think you're completely dead."

"Why?"

"You still have your Mark of The Crimson Dragon. Why would it keep part of itself on someone who died?"

Yusei pondered what Atem said as the two focused on rowing the small wooden boat across the widening river. The desert behind them melted into the distance, yellow and white shores shrank into the watery expanse. The water had a reddish tint from the sun and still seemed to sparkle.

No one spoke for ages, and the Signer found himself thinking of how life must have been for one of the People of the Stars. The nonexistence of technology and absolute belief in a particular deity seemed almost disturbing to him, even if that particular deity was the Crimson Dragon. The Signer asked Atem what he thought. Atem simply told him that if a person believes in a God or Gods, than to that person they do exist. Yusei was astounded by the Pharaoh's wisdom. Atem grinned.

"Being re-awoken in an era of world-wide religions will do that to a Pharaoh. Whether or not you accept one's religion won't change their beliefs."

When pressed by Atem if he had a belief system; Yusei simply said that believing in the bonds people made with each other was all that he needed to do. Atem found that that seemed to be Yugi's philosophy as well. "Finally something they have in common besides similar sounding names and a passion for duel monsters", he thought.

The boat reached a bank within several hours of their departure. Yusei took the opportunity to soak his head and feet in the fresh water of the surf. Atem thought he saw something in the distance and beckoned for Yusei to finish. The two climbed a dune close to the river and beheld what could be a house in the distance. Yusei noticed that as they climbed down the dune, the structure didn't change size.

"We aren't getting any closer."

"Yes we are. We're almost there."

Yusei was about to protest when he saw that the structure's shape began to become clear. There was what looked like a city in the distance, as well as two massive stone obelisks that were set ahead of it.

"Just keep walking, Yusei."

For the former high priest, it had been a long day. Seto paced the Pharaoh's chambers in frustration. His role as the temporary ruler in Atem's absence had been extended, and the man was getting a notion that Atem would never come back. The people of Egypt were all restless, even after they all had passed over. Everyone assumed that after death, they would be in a paradise; not having to lift another finger for all eternity.

How wrong they were. There was still a need to eat and drink, and replenish one's soul with positive energy. Those who did nothing simply faded after a while. Having a friend or loved one vanish into thin air was a horrifying experience.

Seto ran a hand over his forehead and slowly sighed. When he had crossed over with a majority of the others, it was his resolve to continue on that had kept the people from drifting apart. It didn't mean he felt like a pharaoh though. He felt the weight of every decision made on his shoulders, and didn't get as much sleep as he probably needed. No one else seemed to notice, except for Kisara. The Pharaoh technically didn't have to do anything except sit on a throne and look official, but Seto wanted to be there for the people, at least until Atem came back. He looked at the puzzle hung around his neck and felt the grooves where each individual piece met. It had become a nervous habit of his.

"What would you do in my stead?"

He was answered by silence. For several minutes nothing happened. Seto looked around the room. There was gold trim on almost everything. The bed was the only thing that wasn't littered in gold; rather it was made from finely carved ivory. The walls were covered with ornate carvings and sculptures; even one of the White Dragon that he was so fond of. He reclined, content that he had a little time to himself.

And that was of course, when everything blew up in his face.

Please note that next week I will be in New York on vacation, and probably won't have the next chapter up for a while. I know the direction I want to go in for the next chapter, but I'd like some input from you guys first. Are crossover pairings usually a good idea?

And what does this x) mean? I was a little scared when it started showing up in all of the reviews.

Thanks for your time.