Summary: The smallest things are the hardest to let go.

Forecasts

He studied the back of the seat before him intensely. For the fifth time, he read the instructions over the tray table about vending machine and bathroom locations and where the cars with reserved seating began and the free seating ended. Osaka was still 45 minutes and 8 stops away.

He studied but the words did not register.

"What're you doing mom?"

He shoveled his plainly salted rice ball down, trying to pull on a shoe with his free hand. The red-headed woman was hunched over, face practically buried in their freezer.

"I'm making your grandfather shabu shabu and I know there's a small piece of yellowtail in here. Oh where did I put it…"

Yugi shrugged, sliding around her hoping the rice was sticky enough to not fall from his mouth while he started washing his plate.

"Oh dear I'll do that, I don't want you to miss your train." His mother straightened holding two plastic-wrapped bundles. In that flighty way that she always moved, she slid in beside her son and placed the frozen piece of fish under the stream of water.

"You're going to defrost it like that?" He put the plate on their small drying mat and started on his chopsticks and snickered. "You couldn't ask him to pick something else?"

His mother huffed, rolling her eyes and then giggling in that quiet, secretive way that she reserved for complaining about her father. "Yes, well you know him." Then she spun around him and pulled open the drawer of utensils and began gathering the place setting for her father.

Yugi hit the faucet's handle, shutting the flow of water and grabbed up the small hand towel. "Okay, I'm—"

He paused when his gaze landed on the lumpy, frozen piece of what was supposed to have been okonomiyaki sitting out on the counter.

"Mom, why is this out?"

She sighed and her voice was that waifish, absent tone she used when she was trying to coerce him unknowingly into chores. "Oh sweetheart let me throw that out. You're not going to eat it."

Yugi's jaw worked as he tried to think of a succinct rebuttal, but there really wasn't one – not one that he could say to his mother, anyway. "Mom, I already told you, I want to keep it."

"Why are you emotionally attached to failed okonomiyaki, honestly?" She did not say it cruelly, but it was clear in her tone that she thought he was being foolish.

He groped for something clever, but as he stepped away from the counter as if to block his mother from the old food, he saw the place setting on the table.

"MOM!" He lunged at the table, grabbing up the red and gold lacquered chopsticks resting in front of the empty placemat. "These are mine!"

His mother reacted in kind to his overreaction, drawing back in shock. "Yugi don't be childish! I just started the dishwasher and grandpa's chopsticks are in there!"

He froze, eyes darting back to the okonomiyaki and the dishwasher behind it, trying to think of what he could say to appease his mother. "I know just, uh, use my other ones! Please! And please just put my okonomiyaki back in the freezer, it's sentimental to me. I've got to go!"

He spoke quickly to keep his mother from interjecting, foregoing the usual kiss goodbye as he threw a hand up in farewell; shoving the chopsticks into his backpack, he ran from the kitchen and the explanation he probably owed his poor mother.

Yugi sighed, leaning back into his seat and turning his head toward the window, tucking it into the corner made by the seat back and train wall, covering his face with one hand.

He could not tell her why he would not throw away the freezer-burned, mangled piece of bonito flakes, tempura powder and eggs, or why he would not let even his grandfather use a pair of chopsticks. How could he explain that they had not been his but someone else's, when she had watched him use them across the table from her for two years?

She probably didn't realize he hadn't touched them in over a year, coinciding perfectly with a rushed trip to Egypt.

His eyes pressed shut tighter and the knot in his throat burned.

He could not tell her that they were the few keepsakes he had, the only physical proof left of the dead man he'd called 'partner'. They were completely mundane, and even someone in mourning would not have placed such heavy stock in chopsticks a year and a half later, or so he assumed. But then, that person probably had plenty of things left to remember their loved one by, especially if they'd lived in the same house.

What did Yugi have? A gilded box, boots that Atem had favored, a failed cooking experiment… and chopsticks - so few signs to the world that his friend had existed when he had meant so very much. Anything left of his past life was sealed in the mysterious Egyptian underground, watched carefully by the Ishtars, and the cartouche remained in Anzu's care still. For a life that had changed his so irrevocably, he had incredibly little to remember him by, and it was an ache in his heart that he had to live with.

The train eased into the station at Mihara and passengers boarded and disembarked. Yugi curled into himself just a little tighter.

Two stations later the train flooded with passengers. Yugi pulled his backpack onto the floor in front of him, trying to turn his body even more into the wall of the train. The only sounds were the shuffling of feet and murmurs of apology as people squeezed past each other. He sensed when someone sat down but propriety dictated that he shouldn't stare. Taking a sullen glance at the sky, he snorted quietly at the cloud cover; it would figure that the weather was reflecting his bad mood. He hoped it was not a portent for a boring day of classes.

It would be easier if he could just explain to his mother the things that had happened to him and his friends. He had his grandfather and that was a blessing he was sure he took for granted daily, but on days like today, his mother's comfort and compassion would've gone a long way. It was not that life was hard without Atem – to the contrary, he thought he was living more fully since he'd returned from Egypt than he had in all the years before. But his best friend was still dead and it was days like this one that forced him to recall that hard truth.

With a sour taste in his mouth, he straightened out of the curl that had stopped being comfortable one station ago.

Out of his peripheral vision he noticed a hand and, too tempted to look, turned his gaze to realize the person next to him was holding out a box of Pretz.

The girl was smiling at him and looked completely at ease, which was a little odd for a complete stranger. Trains weren't a hotbed for socializing considering the daggers one got for making too much noise. He glanced between the girl and the Pretz cautiously.

"It's okay, take one. " She urged him, her voice hushed and Yugi was almost surprised; decorum and social candor never struck him as a package deal in high school students, at least not in people outside his social group.

Smiling, albeit with confusion, he nodded and pulled a stick from the box. He wasn't much for green tea flavored things but he also wasn't much for being rude. He tried to ignore her as she continued to watch him. Then she faced forward and he thought that would be the end of it, until she whispered again.

"You looked like you needed it. I didn't mean to bother you."

Feeling a bit like an ass, Yugi immediately turned his whole body toward her and whispered back. "No you weren't – I mean, thank you." He ducked his head in a sheepish bow of thanks and was oddly relieved when her shoulder turned inward and she looked at him again.

"It was my pleasure." She had no trouble meeting his gaze and she gestured for him to eat another piece. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you look so familiar?"

Literally forced into a corner, Yugi smiled sheepishly and ducked his head. "You might have seen me on a TV commercial or in a game ad. I'm Yugi Mutou, I play Duel Monsters professionally."

"Ah!" The girl, so excited by her confirmation, exclaimed too loudly and immediately shrunk in her seat as ten curious and disturbed heads turned in her direction. She latticed her hands across her mouth and stared, mortified, at Yugi. For her benefit, he did not hide his humored smile.

Put at ease, she lowered her hands and whispered again. "Of course, how could I not notice? I see this ad for Duel Monsters at the station every morning and those commercials that aired in May for that tournament in Domino were you! I didn't think I'd meet a celebrity on the way to school today…" Yugi, forever reaching new depths of humility, bowed his head to her wonder.

"Well I wouldn't say 'celebrity'…"

"If your name and face are on TV, that's celebrity enough for me!" She ducked again as her voice pulsed with a bit too much excitement and the eyes across the aisle darted towards her.

Yugi, hoping to bring an end to the unfounded fawning, put a hand up. "Well I appreciate… the regard?" Of course, she hadn't exactly complimented him but it was too late to back out now without sounding completely awkward. Almost stumbling on the nicety, he garbled out, "It's nice to meet you."

Lapsing into the expected introduction, the student thrust her hands into her lap and leaned forward. "I'm Hiromi Takagi, and I'm a senior at Shukugawa High School."

Yugi cocked his head thoughtfully, recognizing the name of the school in Kobe. "The same Shukugawa as the university?"

Her smile lit again. "Yes the same! Although I applied to other universities too… I don't think I want to go to KSGU anymore…"

Yugi, though caught off guard by the very open nature of this odd girl, was pulled in none the less. Considering his previous mood, any distraction was welcome, even the attention of a queerly candid high schooler. Suddenly the trip to Osaka did not loom so dismally before him.

Seven stations later, with a healthy amount of whispering between them, Yugi had learned more about Hiromi than he had about some of his own classmates from his high school years. Given that she was awaiting the results of her entrance exams for college, he'd been compelled to tell her about his own entrance exam trials and his acceptance into the city university. She had been delighted to learn it was one of the schools she had applied to.

At length, Hiromi's eyes began darting to the digital ticker across the car's front exit, reading the words they all could have recited by heart. Yugi saw her behavior mirrored by people all around them, anticipating the large station at Shin-Kobe. He leaned in, recalling her attention.

"Well thanks for the Pretz. Your timing was pretty spot-on."

The girl's eyes crinkled with her easy smile and she shook her head. "No, no it was nothing. I'm sorry I've kept you from enjoying the ride."

Yugi did not think it pertinent to correct her, to say he actually owed her a favor after her excellent distraction. Instead, he returned his typical, kind smile.

"If you don't mind, please take this." Yugi did not register the rehearsed phrase until he felt the personal contact card drop into his upturned palm. He had never picked up on this trend, because his junior high days had not afforded him a plethora of people that really wanted to contact him. By high school, the habit's chance to sink in had passed.

"Oh thanks!" He immediately started groping his pockets for a card that he knew wasn't there. "I'm… uh, sorry I don't have one." Really he wasn't sorry, but he did not want her to misinterpret his lack of self-promotion for an unwillingness to talk to her again. "Um, I could write my mail on the back of one of yours?"

Hiromi nodded, a strange smile on her face, like she was smothering a laugh. Yugi averted his eyes, reminding himself that there was no reason to be embarrassed – the gang didn't have the silly ID cards either. Then he felt a poke against his chest and looked down to see the card she was offering him. He grabbed it quickly, glancing at her – she was smiling again, her cheeks clearly flushed. He scrambled, hand diving into his back pocket for a pen – apparently one was never too old to have awkward moments with girls. He did his best to scribble his name and contact neatly without a surface to lean on.

When he looked up, she was rising to her feet with those around her, listening to the same announcements that played on every approach to Shin-Kobe. Yugi extended the card and then brushed it past her fingers, bringing her attention ricocheting back.

Her expression clearly suggested that she had just won the lottery. Yugi's humility pumped the gas and hauled into overdrive.

"Thank you so much!" She bowed while trying to sling her bag across her shoulders, teetering as the train slowed.

Yugi found the whole image reminiscent of Anzu in high school, and fought hard to keep the silly grin off his face.

"Do you normally ride this train?" She was pulling away from their row of seats but she lingered; her open, friendly graces smoothed over the moment of awkwardness and she held against the tide of people pushing past her, awaiting an answer.

Yugi felt a flutter of pleasure in his stomach – he had not expected to make a new friend today.

"Yes, unless I'm late!"

She giggled, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs up as she finally got swept up with the tide of people heading for the car's door. She raised a hand, waving as the rest of her was obscured by the people disembarking at Shin-Kobe.

He heard a faint "until next time!" garbled by anxious commuters, and then the train finally slowed to a stop and the hydraulics of opening doors filtered into the car as people milled out. It was a moment before the train smoothed into full-speed again as commuters to Osaka boarded the train for the last leg of the Sanyou line.

Yugi leaned back, rubbing his mouth, feeling a bit foolish about the silly smile he was trying to wipe off his face. It hardly felt like the day had started as poorly as it had. Checking his watch, he shifted as he waited the eight minutes to Shin-Osaka Station. Trying to occupy his hands, he pulled the card Hiromi had given him out of his pocket, examining it.

It said everything she had already said about herself, with an email address and her mobile number embossed under her name. Then he read the card again, and his eyes stuck on her first name. He had to hold himself back from letting the realization become a spectacle to bewilder the other passengers.

Of all the ways she could have written her first name – this girl who had unwittingly pulled him out of another day dotted by sad reminiscing and thoughts of what-if – she would write her name with the characters for "beautiful sun".

The train broke the city limits and the clouds opened, pouring sun down on his face as he leaned his chin into his hand and looked up at the sky, blinking back the sting in his eyes as his smile broke again.

"Still looking after me huh?"

And the train barreled into the sun-stained Osaka.

A/N: It is personally hard for me that Yugi has very little to remember Atem by and so I felt compelled to write this piece. I like to think that Atem brought Hiromi to him because he would never leave him to cope on his own if he could help it.

Thanks for reading :)