Thaaaank yooooou, everyyyyy oooone! You all are the best! SO MANY REVIEWS?! I just had to update ASAP. But, I was busy these two days so I am very, extremely sorry for taking so long. It will not happen again. Promise! :D So, here it is, the next chapter. I hope you all like it, and I'll be keeping this author note short. You're welcome.

Enjoy!

The Ghost of Yami Atem

Chapter 11

Wide eyed, Yugi stared at the photo in front of him. Disbelief was plastered on his face as he scanned the little boy that clung to Yami so childishly, and allowed Yami to hold him so lovingly. Tanned skin, just like Yami's, and bright purple eyes with the tint of pink to them. They were wide, just like Yugi's, but that wasn't all the little boy shared with Yugi. They had the exact same multi-coloured hair. Golden blond bangs and black hair with red bordering the outside.

Setting the picture down on the bed, Yugi grazed his finger over the boy, and gave the Yami in the picture a long look. He was smiling, genuinely. And looking closely Yugi saw no scars, pain, and no sadness.

Looking up to gaze across his room, Yugi let his mind wander, biting his bottom lip in confusion. What on earth had happened to change Yami so much? Who's the boy in the picture? They looked like they were related, so was the boy Yami's little brother? And if so, where was the boy now? What happened to Yami's family?

Shaking his head furiously, his mind clogged with confusion, Yugi stood up and held the frame with the two brother's tightly. He was tired of being patient. He had to talk to Yami about everything before he worried himself to death. And even if Yami didn't want to tell him, the spirit couldn't possibly avoid the topic of the picture. He couldn't brush it off and say it's nothing because Yugi had it, and saw it, so it clearly couldn't be "nothing".

Stepping out of the room, Yugi marched back to Yami's room and pushed the door open. Once entering he scanned the room only to let his eyes immediately fall on an empty room, Yami nowhere in sight. Yugi's heart began to pound. What if Yami had saw him? What if Yami had followed him to his room without him knowing? Or, what if he knew and left because he was so mad? No, that couldn't happen. Yami wouldn't just leave. He made it clear when they had moved in. Yami said that this was his home, and that he would never leave it no matter what.

Then, where was Yami?

After a while of staring around the room, Yugi looked at the picture and back at the room. He had to do something, but what? He really needed to know who the boy in the picture was. He had so much questions, but without Yami he had no idea-

Sobbing.

Yugi's ears perked at the sudden sound that he had barely caught a hint of. Someone was crying.

Turning around, he tried to pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from. It was definitely coming from inside the room, but where? Yugi's heart started to ache more when he realised that the crying in the room could only come from one person. Yami. Yami was upset somewhere, in tears alone, and Yugi couldn't even find him.

Looking around the room once more, Yugi caught sight of a ghostly shoe, hidden in the corner of the dresser and the wall at the far end of the room. Gulping and hearing the soft drag on something, Yugi stepped forward and towards the broken spirit on the floor. Looking down, Yugi saw that it was definitely Yami, and seeing him standing there, Yami quickly wiped his tears away and desperately tried to hide the box that he had been sifting through.

"Yugi, ah, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to go take a bath?" Yami asked, looking up and smiling at him. Yugi didn't smile. He just held the frame tightly behind his back.

"Yami, what's going on? Why are you crying?" he asked. He already knew the answer to that. Yami had been looking through the box filled with his memories, so obviously that would make him upset.

"Crying? Oh, uh, it's nothing really. I'm just being silly-"

"Because of that photo you lost?"

Yugi didn't allow Yami to finish his badly told lie. And seeing how terrible the spirit looked, it was time for them to have a serious talk.

"Photo? Yes, that photo. Yeah, um, I'm pretty upset about that. I lost it and it was very special to me and-"

"Here," Yugi said, and he pulled out the photo and showed it to Yami who looked up at him with astonishment. Holding it gently, Yugi watched as Yami brushed his finger over the boy before hugging the frame, more tears slipping down his cheeks. Sitting down, Yugi struggled to keep his own tears.

"Yami, please, tell me what's going on? Please tell me something. I need to know. You can't keep crying alone like this. You're hurting yourself like this, and I hurt seeing you like this. Please. Tell me. I know you're lonely, and I know that the boy means something to you. If you talk about it, maybe I can help. If you lost him, maybe I can get him back for you," Yugi pleaded, tears of his own rolling down his cheeks as he watched Yami who remained unresponsive.

"Where did you get this?" Yami managed to say after a while, and Yugi just took a breath and said it.

"I took it when we were cleaning." He watched as Yami looked up at him with shocked eyes. "I'm sorry, Yami. But, I really needed to know something. Anything that I can possibly use to get you to open up and understand you. You know everything about me, but I hardly know anything about you. I want to help you but I can only do that when you let me in, Yami. Really."

Nodding, Yami took a long look at the picture before gently putting it into the box. "He's my brother," Yami said, wiping his tear tracks away. "And he can't come back, so there's no use talking about it."

"But Yami!" Yugi exclaimed, standing as Yami got to his feet. "You can't keep it bottled up like this. It's hurting you."

"I know," Yami said quietly, walking towards the bed before getting it slowly. "I can't keep it in, but I know that I can't say it. It's in the past now, so it's better if you and I forgot about it all." Crawling into the bed too, Yugi sat and looked down at Yami who burrowed himself under the covers.

"Yami, even though you say that, we both know you haven't forgotten. So, don't you think that it's time you stopped forgetting and tried to accept whatever it is and move on? You're killing yourself like this," Yugi exclaimed, and he watched as Yami closed his eyes.

"I'm already dead, so I can't feel anymore pain. There's not much else to feel or live for, and frankly I don't want to talk about it anymore," Yami snapped a bit harshly, and Yugi laid down quietly, worry laced in his eyes.

"Yami…"

Opening his eyes, Yami stared into Yugi's hurt looking ones and sighed. "Yugi, I'm sorry, but I just don't want to talk about it. I promise, I will tell you one day, but for now can we just forget it. Stop worrying. I'll be fine."

"Promise?" Yugi asked, staring at Yami. Yami would never tell him. It was just an empty promise so that he would be quiet. Yami's didn't want to speak about it, so there's not much he can do anymore. He can't force Yami.

"I promise," Yami assured, and he patted Yugi's head with a smile. Seeing Yugi nod and close his eyes while pulling the sheet up to his neck, Yami sighed and reached over to turn the lamps off, plunging the room into darkness.

"Okay, Yugi? Are you ready for this?" Yami asked, looking at Yugi who was shifting back and forth on his legs nervously.

"I hope I am," Yugi replied, staring at the other students while casting side glances to the crowd of parents who had come to watch their kids compete. "I just want it to start already," he said impatiently.

Looking up, Yami watched as Yugi gave two thumbs up to his Grandpa who was sitting in the bleachers, surrounded by other kids who weren't competing but came to watch the show and see who will be the final winner.

"Remember the competitions that you'll be put through?" Yami asked next, trying to get Yugi focused. All week the child had been practicing non-stop, absolutely desperate to defeat Joey and prove that he was just as strong and capable as the blonde. The only time Yugi had actually taken a break was last night, but according to Yugi the cleaning was exercise as well. Hopefully after the game was over, Yugi would go back to his playful, funny, teasing ways.

"Yup!" Yugi exclaimed, turning to Yami. "We begin with a track race, long jump, then we end it off with hurdles which will decide the winner."

"Good!" Yami said, and he looked up when a loud sound blared across the field, followed by a loud voice.

"Okay, everyone! Welcome to Domino Primary's annual race! The first race of the day is about to begin! So, I want all competitors to the starting line!"

Yami looked back at Yugi with a fighting expression. "You ready?"

"Ready!" Yugi shouted.

"Great! Try your best and kick some Joey butt!"

Yugi nodded furiously, grinning before he ran off to take his place at the starting line. And as if all odds were against him, he saw that Joey was just up ahead of him on the other line. In his starting position, the blonde looked back and smirked at him.

"You're going down, Moto!" Joey sneered, sticking his tongue following the remark.

Yugi rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the boy by concentrating ahead, waiting to the siren to go off. A few seconds later it was heard, the sound ripping across the entire area. Everyone took off with the sound, and Yugi watched with irritation as Joey ran straight ahead, taking first place. He ran faster, trying to catch up.

Yami kept his eyes on the race, his eyes widening as he saw how fast Joey took off, easily snagging first place. But, he kept calm, knowing that Yugi was not too far behind and was only in second place. However, other kids weren't far behind. He just hope Yugi would be able to atleast keep the position he has for now until he caught up to Joey.

"Go Yugi!" he cheered loudly, encouraging the youngster, but inside he was praying hard that the boy would win. If the boy didn't win, oh good grief, he wouldn't stop pouting about it for days. Yugi could be very competitive when he wants to be.

Yugi ran as fast as he could, and he looked at Joey to see that he was only a few inches farther than him. From the look on the taller boy's face, it was clear that he wasn't happy with that. Well, he was going to win. This was his moment to prove himself. Nothing can stop him!

Yugi saw the finish line coming into view, and seeing the same Joey pushed himself to run faster. Joey was laughing as he ran, but luck seemed to have been on Yugi's side since Joey stumbled a bit, making Yugi catch up to him. Joey grumbled angrily to see that they were now neck and neck, and the finish line was just getting closer and closer.

Yugi used all his strength to push himself to run even faster, and he managed to pass Joey by a little bit. However, Joey was pushing himself too. Both boys were breathing hard, skin layered with sweat as their legs ached painfully.

Yami had his eyes glued to the race, not taking his eyes off Joey and Yugi. His heart hammered as he watched the boys cross the finish line, other students slowing down as they saw defeat, and Yami watched with a bit of sympathy as some of them flopped on to the ground as soon as they crossed the line from tiredness.

"And the winner is... Yugi Moto!" the emcee shouted. The crowd cheered, Yami cheering the loudest as Yugi walked up to him before dropping down on the bench. Drinking some water quickly, Yugi smiled at Yami as he tried to get his breathing back to normal rate.

"Yugi! You did it!" Yami shouted.

"We did it!" he cried.

Joey on the other hand was out of breath, hands on his knees as he shot Yugi a glare, only to take his anger out on Tristan who went up to comfort him. Yugi shook his head as the two broke out into argument, only to see Tristan stomp away angrily to sit by himself and shoot Joey dark glares of his own.

After a ten minute break, it was time for the second round. Long jumping. Yugi stood up and groaned as he looked at the sand filled area.

"Yami... I can't do this. I'm done for, I can't jump!" Yugi cried, nervousness getting to him. "We Moto's have short legs! Or, that's what Grandpa would constantly say."

"Don't worry Yugi, you'll get it," Yami encouraged, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I hope you're right," Yugi said, giving Yami a worried look, and he flinched when the siren went off again, signaling that all the challengers should line up to wait for their turn.

Fidgeting as he walked up to get in line, Yugi internally groaned when he saw Joey in front of him. Again.

"I'll beat you this time, Moto," Joey said seriously, no longer teasing. Yugi looked at him.

"We'll see."

Students went and jumped as far as they could and Yugi watched them, his worry rising as they all jumped farther than he could ever think. It didn't take long for the line to get shorter and his turn to get closer, because in no time it was Joey's turn. He watched as Joey took a running start and jumped, jumping the farthest he had seen so far. He gulped when Joey sent him a smirk, giving him two thumbs down.

Looking at the sandpit, Yugi felt woozy. The person taking down the scores stood at the side, looking at him expectantly. Yugi felt his hands sweating, frantically trying to get his mind focused. When the siren was heard, Yugi took off and ran, before jumping as far as he could.

Yami looked on, but then winced when he saw the results.

Yugi landed on his feet, only to be forced into a crouching position. "Atleast he didn't fall over," Yami thought, but he watched with surprise as Yugi leaned forward, and fell face down into the sand. Unconsciously a hand went to Yami's head his eyes staring at a sputtering Yugi.

The crowd went silent, and Yugi just knew that he had lost. Looking up, he just dropped back down when he saw that he barely got past a meter. Joey had won this game, and Joey's cheers and cries of joy echoed in Yugi's head as he trudged towards Yami with a gloomy face, sitting down on the bench.

"Aw, c'mon Yugi! Cheer up! It was just one game, and look! You both are tied! You still have a chance to win this!" Yami said, trying to shed some positivity on the entire scenario.

Yugi looked at Yami, then looked at Grandpa who was looking at him intently, giving him a smile and thumbs up. He felt a 'little' better seeing the encouragement.

"Okay, I'll try my best to kick Joey into next week!" he cried.

"That's the spirit!" Yami cheered. "Now, go and try your best!"

Yugi nodded, and he ran off towards the next obstacle that was blocking him from his goal. The hurdles. Oh, the irony.

"Ready to lose Yugi?!" Joey said from beside him.

Yugi rolled his eyes, unsure as to why Joey had to be beside him. Was it coincidences? For this being the third time in a row, he highly doubted it. "I'm not going to lose," Yugi said, determined. Joey however smirked, turning to look in front of him without saying another word.

The siren was heard, and the remaining competitors raced to the finish.

This was the one Yugi had been practicing the most with. By the end of his week of training, he could run and jump high enough to make over good enough heights. Yami just hoped he could do it. He had faith in him.

Yugi jumped the third one hurdle, and gasped when he almost tripped over it since it was a little higher than the two before. Joey was right alongside him, and thankfully he was having his share of troubles as well. They were both in the lead, once again tied.

"I'm going to win this, Yugi," Joey said, breathing loudly as he jumped a hurdle.

Yugi jumped one as well, completely ignoring him.

The last hurdle was soon seen, and it seemed bigger than all of the rest. Yugi wanted to win this. He had to try. Pushing himself to his limits, Yugi ran towards the last obstacle. Taking a look at Joey, Yugi saw that he looked confident too. Running faster to gather some speed, Yugi jumped as high as he could, feet landing on the ground, right foot first then left as he ran towards the finish line, a grin breaking out on his face as he did it. He could hear Yami cheering loudly.

With relief and strength and determination all the way to the end, Yugi broke the red ribbon and waved triumphantly to Yami and Grandpa who were both applauding. He did it!

Yugi looked back towards Joey to see the boy grumbling, completely angry as he stormed away. He was not happy at all, but that was his own problem. That's what he gets for underestimating Yugi Moto!

Yugi turned away and gave a big wave towards Yami. Yami waved back.

Grandpa on the other hand thought Yugi was waving at him, but then realised that something was off. The boy wasn't looking at him. He was waving to someone else, but who? Looking to see who the boy was grinning so widely at, Grandpa's eyes shot open when he saw no one there. Grandpa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, shrugging it off as him just being blind.

"And the winner of this year's competition is, Yugi Moto!"

After drinking some more water, Yugi rushed over to collect his prize, standing proudly at the big blue ribbon was pinned on to his t-shirt.

"And, as your prize, a brand new bike!"

Happily Yugi stared at the red, shiny bike, happiness like no other surging throughout him. This had to be the best day ever.

"You did it Yugi!" Yami shouted, walking up to the boy. Refraining himself from hugging the ghost, Yugi looked at the bike and grinned

"I couldn't have done it without you, Yami. Thank you."

Yami grinned and ruffled the boy's head, and the two looked up as they saw Grandpa walking towards them, a smile of his face. Well, everything was wrapping up quite nicely. He was glad that things were finally getting back to normal.

Okay! So that's the end of this chapter! Hope you liked it, and please review for more!

Thanks for reading! :D