A/N: All of your reviews are really sweet, and I appreciate every one of them. They really make my day! :)

Chapter Five

Yami was in the middle of a duel when Yugi solved the Millennium Puzzle.

The duelist champion had been playing a semi-final match in Tokyo as part an Industrial Illusion tournament after receiving a personal invitation from the company's CEO, Pegasus. The final match of the tournament was to be played against Pegasus himself, and Yami hadn't been able to refuse the opportunity to duel the soul stealer.

The King of Games had been looking to unseat the corporate executive and wielder of the Millennium Eye since Yami had first learned about his lineage as pharaoh six years ago. Pegasus' reputation for banishing innocent souls to the Shadow Realm was well known among the community of those who kept the secret of the Millennium items.

Yami had been forced to leave Yugi in Domino for the four day tournament, aching from the distance between them, but hoping to leave with the constant threat of Pegasus' power eliminated.

Yami was about to play the card to seal his opponent's fate when Yugi solved the puzzle. He knew the particular moment his hikari slid in the final piece because it was at that exact moment that his knees gave out from under him, the bonds of his shadow magic snapping free. The noise from the once buzzing arena died as Yami hit the floor, his cards slipping from his hand.

His opponent, an American with blonde pigtails, disappeared from sight as he crumpled behind his podium, catching himself with his hands.

Yami had lived with his shadow magic his entire life, but the moment its binds were released, he realized how little he knew about the darkness inside of him or how to control it. Pain, raw and angry, burned through him and, he slumped forward as the darkness flooded his veins.

The power screeched its way through his body, and his hands gave way as he slipped to the floor. He hadn't known pain could like this – so consuming, so dark, so evil.

The tiles were cold against his cheek as he laid on the ground, the chill seeping through his clothes, anchoring his mind to his body as he sought to escape, anywhere away from the darkness, the pain.

He couldn't feel Yugi. He couldn't feel anything.

Hands grasped his arms as someone flipped him over. The person, a medic maybe, shined a light in his eyes, testing pupillary responses but, Yami closed his eyes. There was no sound. There was no light. There was only silence and a darkness that dragged him into unconsciousness.

The last time Yugi could remember being this petrified was the day that his parents died. He had been nine years old and trembling as he sat in the back of a government van as Child Services took him to see his mother on her deathbed. His grandfather had been on a dig in Egypt, and Yugi had been alone as his life crumbled in the span of a few hours.

Yugi pushed through the crowd of reporters outside the hospital doors, sprinting through the lobby. He was frantic for the elevators. He spotted them across the way and ran to catch the closing doors, bumping someone on the way. He couldn't even find the words to apologize as his mind turned, adrenaline racing through him.

The second that he had solved the Millennium Puzzle, dread had hit him like a punch in the gut. He had thought he would be exhilarated to have completed the three year challenge, but instead he felt panic, instantaneous and paralyzing panic. It was like someone had reached into him and yanked out a piece, leaving him aching for its return.

He had sat frozen in his chair as he'd tried to calm down, fingers playing over the puzzle. Then, his phone had rung – unknown caller. He'd answered it.

The voice on the other end had been all business as the man started dropping bombs. Yami is being taken to the hospital. No, he is not okay. Yugi needs to get on the next train to Tokyo with the Millennium Puzzle. Yes, I know about the puzzle. This is his cousin, Seto Kaiba. No, this is not a joke.

Yugi had replayed the conversation over and over again on the six hour train ride to Tokyo. Ryou had been Yugi's first call after Seto had hung up, and his friend had met him at the train station twenty minutes later, paying the ¥40,000 ticket with his father's credit card. Ryou's father, absent in every way but financially, wouldn't even notice the charge.

Then came the waiting. The six hour ride had passed second by second as Yugi's mind turned. He didn't even know what was wrong with Yami. Seto had been short and vague on the phone, only telling him that Yami was unconscious and that Yugi needed to get himself to the hospital immediately.

What if he's dead? Yugi had wondered more than once on the train and cab ride to the hospital, and again as the elevator clicked up floors with excruciating slowness. He hadn't been able to bring himself to check the news on his phone, petrified that the headlines would confirm his fear.

Kaiba had texted him Yami's room number, 441, and as the elevator clicked number four, Yugi's stomach was in knots. He's not dead, he told himself. Kaiba wouldn't have told me to come here if he was dead.

As the elevator doors parted, Yugi felt like he had been transported through time as he stepped onto the floor. The smell of latex and bleach burned in his nose, the white walls reminding him of the walk to his mother's room those nine years ago.

His parents had died in a car accident. His father had been dead on the scene but, his mother had survived the trip to the hospital before losing brain function. He'd been holding her hand, pale and cold, when they'd told him she would never wake up.

Yugi whipped past rooms, slowing as he neared 441. There was a stocky man in a suit standing in front of the door, a Kaiba Corp identification badge pinned to his lapel and arms bulging under the custom cut fabric. He eyed Yugi as he approached, demanding his ID when he asked to enter. The man scrutinized the plastic card for a few seconds before confirming his identity, allowing him passage.

The door clicked shut behind him as Yugi entered Yami's room and suddenly, breathing seemed much harder. The room was huge, obviously intended for two patients, but Yami was alone, lying motionless in the bed. Machines beeped around him. His heart rate was steady, and he was breathing on his own, but an IV was set in his arm.

Yugi felt tears pricking his eyes as he looked down at the duelist king. Yami's eyes were closed, his face pale and hair unruly as ever. Yugi sank down in the bedside chair, putting his backpack in his lap. The Millennium Puzzle was the only thing inside.

Kaiba hadn't told him why he was to bring the puzzle, just to do it, and Yugi had been too flustered at the time to question it. The metal was cold in his hands as he removed the artifact from his bag, wondering how it fit into any of this.

He'd been too panicked before but, now he was wondering how Kaiba had even gotten his number, let alone known about the puzzle. He hadn't told Yami that the puzzle was a secret but, why would he tell his billionaire cousin and business partner about it – why would Kaiba even care?

Yugi glanced at Yami's still form, eyes burning as loneliness, empty and tangible, slammed into him. He didn't know what to do. Kaiba wasn't answering his phone. He still didn't know what had happened at the duel. Had Yami passed out or had it been something more than that? There wasn't even a doctor around to tell him what Yami's status was.

Yugi got up, puzzle tucked under his arm, and touched Yami's hand. The older boy's muscles were lax as he threaded their fingers together.

"I don't know what to do," Yugi said, throat tight. "You wanted me to come with you and, I should have."

Yami had continued to insist that Yugi join him in Tokyo for the tournament up to the moment that he'd left, but the younger boy had been firm in his decision. He'd seen Yami off at the train station on Thursday night, promising he'd be right there waiting when he returned on Sunday.

When the older boy kissed him goodbye, his fear had rolled through Yugi, just one of the flashes of Yami that he'd felt every so often since their first kiss last week. At first he'd thought the flashes had been a fluke, but after a dozen of them, he was beginning to question his mental stability. People didn't feel other people's emotions - they just didn't.

What if he never wakes up? Yugi asked himself. The thought made his stomach lurch.

He had only known Yami for a month and a half but, the older boy had wormed his way into his life. Yugi had talked to Yami or seen him every day for the past month, and despite his initial anxiety around him, Yami had become a safe haven for the younger boy. He'd started to fill in a hole that Yugi never knew was inside him, and ever since he'd solved the puzzle, Yugi had felt an ache in chest, almost as if his heart was literally breaking to pieces.

He hadn't meant to fall for Yami. He really hadn't, but standing next to the older boy's motionless body, he couldn't deny how deep the bond between them had grown in such a short period.

Yugi cupped Yami's chin, thumb brushing his lips. His tears started full force, and he couldn't stop them as he slumped forward, head resting on Yami's chest.

"Please don't die," Yugi whispered. "Please." His sobs wracked through him. I can't lose anyone else.

/Aibou,/ Yami said.

Yugi shot up at the sound of Yami's voice, searching the older boy's face for any signs of life. He deflated as Yami remained still. Yugi rubbed his eyes, exhaling a shaky breath.

/Aibou,/ Yami repeated.

Yugi dropped his hand, studying the older boy. None of the machines had changed, but he could have sworn he'd heard Yami's voice.

"Yami?" Yugi said, feeling foolish. He ran his fingers through his hair. Yami was silent. He closed his eyes, searching for the corner of his conscious where the flashes of Yami always seemed to pop up. Yugi was seriously concerned about how far he was taking this imaginary mental link, but he had to try. When he'd found the connection, he tried again.

/Hello?/ Yugi said in his mind.

/Yugi,/ Yami said.

Yugi stumbled back from the bed, almost dropping the Millennium Puzzle in the process. There was no question that Yami's voice had been in his head, and his mind raced at the realization.

/Touch,/ Yami said. His voice was quieter now, a whisper against Yugi's conscious.

Yugi approached the bed, taking Yami's hand again. /Hello?/ he tried again.

/Light,/ Yami said. /Need./

The younger boy frowned. /Light?/ he asked.

/You,/ Yami said. /Need./

Yugi had no idea what to make of that and, he now he was definitely sure he was hallucinating, but he tried again.

/How?/ Yugi asked. One word answers seemed easiest as he felt strangely exhausted as he tried to talk to the spirit that could have been either Yami or a figment of his imagination.

/Puzzle,/ Yami said. The older boy's voice was weary as the word stuttered across Yugi's mind.

Again, Yugi was stumped. What does the Millennium Puzzle have to do with any of this? he wondered. He dropped Yami's hand, and picked up the puzzle.

"Hello?" he asked the puzzle, feeling like an idiot.

The puzzle was silent, a cold inanimate object, and Yugi sat back into the bedside chair. He turned the puzzle in his hands, noticing the eye emblazoned on the puzzle's front, remembering Yami's reaction to it last week. Yugi brushed the symbol with his fingers but, unlike the rest of the puzzle, it was warm under his hand.

"Can you help me?" Yugi asked the puzzle. He felt ridiculous but, this entire situation was ridiculous, crazy even. "Hello!" he said, louder, rattling the puzzle. "Can you do anything or are you just useless?"

Yugi froze as light filled the room. He squinted in the blinding beam that spilled from the puzzle and filled the room, forcing him to close his eyes as he flinched back. The light faded after a few seconds, and Yugi's body felt like gelatin, trembling and weak as the light dimmed behind his eyelids.

When Yugi opened his eyes, adjusting to the light, he wasn't in the hospital anymore. He was in another place entirely.