Nickey: So, we all know Fallen here is a slacker in the first place... But with how long this freaking chapter is, I sure hope it makes up for her absence XD We all still love ya, Fallen, even if you are a slacker ^w^ Enjoy everyone!

Fallen: Yeah, right? I've been sitting on this thing for... what, like a week? I feel SO bad for taking so long with this, but between life, other fanfics, and the works... well, I'm sure you're all used to my long-ass waiting periods for updates *laughs* Anyways, I hope this super-long chapter makes up for it! But, unfortunately, no guarantees future updates will be this lengthy. There was a lot to go through and explain here, so my keyboard just kinda ran away with me, here.

Enjoy the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Nickey and I do not own, nor are we affiliated with Yu-Gi-Oh! nor anything pretaining to Yu-Gi-Oh! This is a fan-made story made purely for entertainment purposes, and nothing more.

~ Chapter IV ~

Matched

"B-But, but Jii-chan!"

"No means no, Yuugi! That is final!"

I flinched as my grandfather finally reached his destination ever since I first confronted him about... – well, let's just say it's a touchy subject – and promptly slammed the door shut to my pleas. I sighed heavily, letting my arms, which were crossed over my chest, drop limply down to my sides. The disappointment swelling up like a balloon in my chest was nothing new to me, so why did it still hurt so bad? It pressed in on my lungs, making me feel as if something were filling them, slowly attempting to asphyxiate me. And then, as the wave of sadness came and went, something new took its place.

Anger.

What right did this old man have to keep my brothers and I from such an important stepping stone in our lives? Surely this wasn't just simple, parental over-protectiveness? My hands curled into fists, and I felt a growl rumble in my throat as Arceus picked up on my frustrations. "You can't keep us locked up in this place forever, Grandfather!" I shouted at him through the door, though I already knew he wouldn't reply. We'd been through this enough times for me to know that by now. "We're not your precious little secrets to keep anymore! What you're doing now is... it's... i-it's just selfish!"

Yuugi. Arceus' reprimanding voice rang through my head like a siren. I growled again, but quickly turned away from the master bedroom, and stomped my way into my own. I tossed the door shut carelessly and flopped face-first into the mattress of my bed. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to scream, cry, or maybe even both. I didn't even wince as my nails – now sharp and longer than before – cut into the palms of my hands. I reached up, arm patting uselessly over the blankets until I felt my hand sink into the plush softness of a pillow. Not even lifting my head, I dragged it down, and squished it over my head, as if trying to block out a noise of some sort. Only, there was no noise.

The air around me was still and silent.

It was deafening.

Somewhere, I could feel a light pulling sensation, like something were tugging a cord that was connected to my heart and my head, and I groaned into the bed. "Not now, Arceus..."

I knew he wouldn't listen. I knew that, when I looked up, there would be another resting at the foot of the bed. Probably laying down, tail swept to one side, front claws crossed with one hind leg draping off towards the floor. The blue-scaled bastard. Yuugi... his deep voice murmured, with a tinge of sympathy, You knew he would react that way. Why act as if you were expecting a different outcome?

I moved the pillow, and sat myself on my elbows, glancing at the end of the mattress. There he was, just as I had pictured. Paws crossed, one leg almost brushing the carpet... His wings shifted along his sides, blinking those vibrant, light purple eyes. They almost looked silver in the lighting. I sighed again, and sat up, trying to avoid smearing any more blood on my blankets than I already had. "I don't know..." I muttered, making my nails shrink back to their normal, dull state. "I don't even know why I try anymore. But I..." I glanced to the pale dragon. "It... isn't fair, Arceus! I mean, I could understand it if we were still six, but sixteen? Malik's birthday was two months ago, we're all of age, and we haven't even been registered into the Matching system! Doesn't that seem to be just the slightest bit ridiculous?"

He puffed out a warm breath from his nostrils, and I noticed his shoulders droop ever-so-slightly. The lethal-looking spikes jutting back from his skull seemed to constrict a little bit, making him look more nurturing, in a way. There isn't much else we can do about it, Little One. It may seem unfair, but if Sugoroku is so vigilant about his decision, then it can only be for a very valid reason.

"I don't care how 'valid' he thinks it is!" I snapped with a deep growl, "The entire point of the Matching program is to find your Kindred! It's practically impossible to do it any other way, and it... it just..."

It seemed that the option for tears began to overwhelm the one to scream, as moisture forced its way into the light. I stubbornly swatted away the beginnings of those damnable tears, sniffing instinctively. I felt Arceus press his pointed muzzle tentatively to my arm. I accepted his comfort, and wrapped the limb over his scaly neck. With the texture and appearance of them, one would think they would be rough and uncomfortable to the touch. After all, large spikes of natural armor shot away from the back of his head, neck, shoulders, and spine in a way that made it look as if he had crystals sprouting from his skin. But, actually, I had always found them to be soft – warm, even. Maybe it was just me...

I felt him shifting, so his head lay on my shoulder, the bumpiness of the scales on his muzzle pressing to my neck. He unfolded one of his white, membranous wings, and soon a reassuring pressure lay itself over my back, while one leg stretched over my lap. The birdlike talons of his left leg gripped firmly at my right hip, and I heard a deep rumble escape his throat. It almost sounded like a purr. I leaned into the familiar touch. It was a bit of a routine when this happened.

Whenever I got upset, ever since Arceus had awoken within me, I'd go to my room, and, well... we'd do this. It was how I found comfort. And, to anyone else that might have been observing, all that could be seen would have been a sparkling, light silver-blue aura where my Ka lay. Maybe a vague outline, if they were to focus hard enough. I sniffed again, and Arceus rubbed his snout against my cheek. I turned my head to look at him. A patient, understanding silver-lavender eye met my own amethyst.

I know, he murmured quietly. I could detect a note of wistfulness beneath his tone. I can feel it, too.

I cupped a hand over where my heart was without realizing it.

My brothers and I were sixteen. In any normal situation, it would be a long-awaited dream come true. That's how it was for most teenagers. After all, we had come of age. Had things been different, we would have been happily led downtown, hardly more than five or so miles from the game shop we lived in, and brought to the Matching Center. There, we'd take a test, and discover who our Kindred was.

I shrank more into my spirit-monster's presence at that particular thought.

My Kindred... My perfect match, my soulmate. The one I was supposed to meet, befriend, date, marry, settle down, have a family, and spend the rest of my life with. My one true love, the only one I could truly be compatible with. My protector, confidant, and closest friend. The literal other half of my soul.

And yet, here I was, sitting in my room, waiting my life away for something that apparently will never happen. All because of a grandfather's paranoia. To spend forever with this... this barren, gaping hole hollowing away at my chest. Feeling an empty space somewhere, in the very depths of my heart. My fingers brushed over Arceus' soft, off-white chest. I knew he could feel it, too.

I wonder if Ryou and Malik felt the same way?

My fingers flit over a patch in my Ka's chest where the scales were not like the others around it. They were hard and smooth, almost metallic. And, whereas the rest of his body was either varying shades of bright blue, turquoise, and white, this little spot was a flashy shade of gold. It was bizarre – just a random patch, in the shape of an upside-down triangle. There was a little marking in the center that looked like a third eye.

I was stirred from my thoughts as Arceus suddenly swung his broad head towards the door. I quickly wiped my eyes, and his grip over my side tightened on instinct. I looked up in time to see a white-haired head poke through a newly opened gap between the bedroom door and its frame. Pale lips and gentle brown eyes smiled over to me. I offered one back. He also offered a tiny wave to Arceus, who gave a short dip of his head back in return.

Out from behind Ryou, stepped his own Ka. She was dressed in loose, robe-like garments, and had two different kinds of wings on her back. The right was black and draconian, the left white and feathery. Her straight, amber-gold hair rested neatly over her shoulders, as well as above her pretty green eyes. It looked as if the right half of her body were cut directly down the middle, and drenched in shadow. Around her neck gleamed a strange necklace. It was gold, like the patch on Arceus' chest, made up of a hollow circle piece with a triangle set inside, and five gold cones dangling symmetrically off of the sides. And, also like Arceus, within the triangle segment, lay an eye-like symbol. She beamed, and offered a tiny wave.

That was another thing. I could clearly see Ryou's Ka. I knew I would be able to see Malik's, if he were in the room at the time, as well. It was strange, but I could see them almost as clearly as I could my own. The only difference was, where Arceus was solid to the touch, both Amane and Ra were translucent, and I would pass through them if physical contact were to be attempted.

"Amane and I wanted to check up on you," the albino murmured, his voice laced with the hints of a British accent. His doe-like gaze softened. "Another argument with Jii-chan, huh?" I nodded absently in reply. If it weren't for the wing at my back, I would have dropped to fully rest on the bed again. Maybe hide my face in a pillow. He crossed the threshold into my room, and sat on the segment of the bed that wasn't crowded by bright blue dragon. His Ka, Amane, instead placed herself by Arceus' haunches, which he didn't seem to mind.

"You know, Yuugi, you really shouldn't push him so much on these kinds of things," he murmured softly, laying his hand over my own, resting them in my lap behind Arceus' foreleg. I could feel the scales, but Ryou's hand passed right through them when they made contact with his skin. It was a bizarre sensation, to have the skin of two different people (or, in this case, a person and a dragon) touching the same area at the same time. "It must be a good reason, for him to be so adamant about it."

I turned to look at him, and I could feel the exasperation rising. "Don't tell me you agree with him, too," I grumbled, sulking.

"No, I don't, but I do respect his decision."

"It's not his decision to make, Ryou! We're talking about our Kindred, here, not whether or not we can have ice cream before dinner!" I shot back sharply, feeling my anger rising again, "Aren't you tired of being shut up in a house just... wondering what could be, or what makes us so important, that we couldn't go to a public school or make a fucking run to the store if we wanted to?!" He was silent, casting his gaze to the side. I moved my hand away from his own.

"Exactly. I couldn't care less what Jii-chan's reasons are. I am not spending the rest of my life like this, just because he's scared of something that can't be helped." I carefully moved Arceus' claw from my legs, and stood up. I automatically, subconsciously began pacing despite the calming sensations my Ka sent to me through our mental bond. "I love Jii-chan, but I can't just sit idly by while our lives run away without us! I'm tired of... of feeling like there's a piece of me that's missing!"

There was a grunt of "agreed", from behind the walls of my room, and I saw Ryou stiffen. Amane and Arceus simply looked to the doorway again, the latter of them rolling his eyes. The knob turned, and in slipped the third and final member of our brotherly trio, along with his Ka.

A wild, spiky lion's mane of platinum blonde hair contrasted greatly with the deep caramel tan of Malik's skin, but somehow it all seemed to be pulled together nicely. Even the odd, lavender-hued shade of his eyes seemed to complete the image in their own, unique kind of way. And, despite our eyes having a similarly based color, my adoptive brother's seemed so very different, in comparison. They were full of mischief and an utter disregard towards rules. I swear, half the time that eccentric blonde was one nut short of a bag of trail mix, the near-insanity just barely balanced out by those little candies and raisins that were made up of his Ka, and his fierce protective streak towards our family.

I felt Arceus' amusement shoot across my mind at the comparison, and I withheld the urge to grin.

And, speaking of, here comes the lumbering beast now.

Ra, like Arceus, was also a dragon, of sorts. At least... that's what we think he is. In complete honesty, he could have been a bird, too. It was a mixture, appearance-wise. For now, his form had been shrunk down to the size of a very large dog – he stood just a little higher than my own Ka, for the moment – and his... scales, so to speak, were smooth and plated, like metal armor. Even his wings, currently poised in a half-folded position above his back, looked as if they were just some grand mechanism, some kind of brilliant, transportable war machine. Each supposed "feather" was like a blade of solid gold, yet we all knew from experience, that it did very little to hinder the creature's flying abilities. Between his wide, bulging shoulders, was the beginnings of what seemed to be a ring, or the outline of a disk. His paws were made of oversized, wicked-looking talons, with a short frill coming off of the joints of his elbows, as well as one surrounding his head in a protective crown, almost. There was a vivid sapphire gem resting front-and-center in the plateau of his great forehead, only bringing more contrast to those regal, red eyes that shone like freshly-polished rubies. His entire body appeared to be crafted of gold, and an aura of royal proportions radiated from him in nearly smothering amounts. Yet, I knew the phoenix-dragon to be kind-hearted and actually quite playful at times.

Amongst the rest of the gold, just below where the collar of his neck might have been, one could easily miss the odd set of scales that were similar to those of Arceus and Amane. That same, eye-looking shape was embedded into his chest, only with a smooth, thin line running around the curves of his throat and nape. Like the chain of a necklace had been shoved into his body, and forgotten there, leaving it to morph and mark the golden plates of armor like a scar would.

"Yo." Malik flicked two fingers up in a greeting, offering us a short grin. Ryou only sighed in exasperation beside me; we were used to this treatment by now.

"Y'know, there's a door right there, perfectly suitable for opening, whenever you want to join in on a conversation, Malik."

Here we go again, I thought to Arceus, who had to stifle a laugh, as it could both be seen and heard by the others in my room.

Said blonde scoffed, but before he could make a retort, I made sure to kill the subject before it even had a fighting chance. "So, what's going on in that brilliantly mad head of yours, then, Malik, seeing how we're all at a mutual understanding here?" I almost followed the urge to put my hands between the two, as if breaking up some sort of brawl. That brought the spark of... lets call it "genius" for now, and hope it all works out, back to my brother's eyes.

"Well, little Yuu-chan," he crooned, like an adult to a child, despite the fact that he is the youngest out of us, and I am actually the oldest, "I think that answer would be rather simple, yeah?"

I exchanged a look with Ryou, Arceus and Amane doing the same with each other.

Malik elaborated – he probably would have done it anyways, even if we actually did have an inkling of what he was implying. His voice was low when he spoke, and I actually had to lean forward a little bit to understand what it was he was saying. "Well, it's obvious that we don't want to spend the rest of our lives cooped up in the house, yeah? And we also don't want good ol' Gramps to find out about anything that we... may or may not do." I could already feel apprehension rising in the pit of my stomach. "So... I say, we sneak out. Tonight, after he's conked off, and go find out who our Kindred are, ourselves!"

I knew the alarm I felt had become visible on my face, because before any of us could reply, Malik gave a silent "shushing" motion. Ryou's mouth closed with the scarcely-audible click of his teeth, and from my spot in front of the bed, I saw his Ka shift closer to him. Arceus even reached forward enough to grip my hip in his paw again, forcing me to shift closer to his pale, bluish-white chest. His dangling hind leg stretched to press firmly into the carpet below it. "Look, I know it sounds bad, and I love Grandpa, I really do..." he murmured, voice nearly inaudible, "but... like you said, Yuugi, it isn't his choice to make. Whatever his reasons are, I frankly couldn't give less of a fuck than I do now." His fist clenched, and I noted that Ra had subconsciously pulled his lips back in a half-snarl. "I'm tired of this numb, empty feeling in my chest! I'm tired of not being able to go out and experience the world, and I am not going to let myself or my Kindred be forced into a life without knowing who we were meant to be with!"

Again, my hand came to press against the skin where my heart pulsed beneath. I felt the conflict racing along the stream of my Ka and I's mental connection, as we wordlessly tried to make a decision. I already knew that whether we went with him or not, Malik would attempt at following through with his little scheme. And, well, speaking from experience, he was probably going to be unsuccessful in this particular endeavor... I mean... sneaking out after dark? And, to get into the system after hours... we'd have to somehow, I don't know, break in, or sneak past security! Or... did they even have security at the Center? Maybe someone was actually there after dark? Oh, Gods above, this was confusing...

I was shocked, really, when Ryou was the first to reply. "I'm in." Myself, Malik, Arceus, and Ra all snapped our heads to the quiet white-haired teen I had come to love and consider as my brother. All eyes were wide – mine painfully so – and I could still feel the doubtless resonance of his words striking against my skull. Ryou had just agreed to go against the words of our elder, our father-figure, and risk the possibility of breaking-and-entering? And being caught, on top of all of that?

"I think Hell just installed an air conditioner," was all Malik said, giving a low whistle, before his face split with a wicked grin. Ryou flushed softly, and averted his gaze. Amane just glared at the blonde with that natural protectiveness of hers.

I just blinked. "Be sure to crank up the power when we get there, then," I added, brushing the fingers of one hand through my bangs, and into the wild ebony-and-orchid mass behind them, "Because so am I."

"Well, this is sure to be an adventure!" the Egyptian said with a quiet, manic chuckle.

"If we get arrested," Ryou mumbled, head resting in his hands, as if he were already regretting his decision, "be prepared to run. Fast. Because I will be chasing after you with the nearest blunt object I can get my hands on."

"Hmm," hummed our brother, "Good luck with that, considering we'd probably be wearing cuffs, or something."

"Well then! In that case," came the reply, Ryou's drawl dripping with sarcasm, "I guess I'll have to settle with tackling you to the ground and dancing over your body, considering you won't be able to use your arms to get back up with those handcuffs of yours."

"...At least you don't weigh much."

"I'll be sure to borrow a pair of cleats for the occasion."

I gingerly hoisted myself out from the open skylight of my bedroom, reaching out a hand to grasp another, paler one offered by Ryou. Malik was already shimmying his way across the rooftop, with Ra laying in wait on the grass, two stories below. By the snores that quietly traveled down the hall, hardly more than a whisper within my own bedroom, Jii-chan was still fast asleep. Actually, the entire neighborhood was most likely out for the night, as a matter of fact.

I stood and steadied myself, with Arceus easily slinking through the window behind me. He spread his wings, so the membranes were exposed halfway to the chilled night air, and slid from the shingled surface beneath our feet with quiet grace. I saw how the appendages opened more against the sudden air resistance beneath them, lofting the great dragon almost noiselessly to the lawn. Amane, who had been holding Ryou steady, looped her arms from his shoulders to around his waist, and sweetly guided him to the roof's edge in my Ka's lead. I saw him bite his lip to keep in a sound of fear when the robed woman suddenly jumped into open space. Her dual-colored wings spread, softening the landing, as she held her Ba tightly to her chest the entire time.

When their feet met with the ground, I noticed that the normally-faint auras that lingered around Ra and Arceus began to brighten a little. Gold, sunshine-like rays began to seep and wrap around the metal draconian, the same thing happening to my own Ka, though his glow was more of a silvery-white shade. I sat there, beside Malik, as their bodies began to increase in size. It was nowhere near as large as I had seen the two grow before, but it was still an impressive sight. Soon, one lavender eye peeked above the storm gutter, lined by those familiar, blue-and-white, crystalline scales. They still held a faint glow to them, but it was subtle.

Cautiously, I picked my way over to the enlarged form of my Ka, and carefully brought myself to scramble on top of his muzzle. His eyes had closed, and I could feel the patience of his presence as I went to seat myself on top of his large head, which, alone, was about as big as I was in his current form. I saw Malik doing the same, looping his arms over the ring-like protrusion behind Ra's head, before the golden beast slowly moved away from the building, bringing his Ba down with him. I shifted, turning my body so it draped along Arceus' neck, and gently gripped the spiky-soft armor beneath me for leverage.

As he moved, already starting to lumber away from our childhood home, the magical aura returned. I watched as it seeped into the teensy cracks and crevices between his scales, and tried to keep in a surprised noise as his body shifted and changed beneath my own. Soon, he had shrunken down to the size, just smaller than that of a stallion, and I had come to sit upon the area of skin just above his shoulders. It seemed that Malik's Ka had also decreased in size, but the sun-colored dragon had instead opted to go down to a size that allowed him to drape across his Ba's shoulders like an elegant, metallic scarf.

I gently tapped on the back of Arceus' head, catching his attention. He gave a soft, rumbling hum to show he was listening. Hey, Arce'? I murmured into our mental Bond, Maybe you should shrink down, or go to our Room. I think it'd be best if I walked there myself.

I could feel the offense rising, but before he could get too huffy, I elaborated. Not that I don't appreciate you wanting to carry me! But, wouldn't it be a little suspicious, to see three random kids wandering down streets at like, what is it, midnight? Better to be as inconspicuous as we can.

There was a moment of silence, before the begrudging, Alright, Yuugi... I sent my Ka mental thanks, and soon he was no bigger than a cat – the smallest size he could manage – leaving me to stumble a moment at the sudden contact with the ground. I winced as tiny, needle-like claws gripped at my pants-leg, pricking a little bit at the skin beneath, as Arceus climbed his way up my body, before perching on my left shoulder. It was a little awkward, even with his decreased size, and he wobbled somewhat unsteadily for a moment or two. I grunted in mild irritation as his claws bit into my skin again, stinging like mad, and he sent a quick apology. His tail wrapped over the back of my neck, hind legs giving out beneath him so he could flop gracelessly onto my shoulder. His front paws still held fast to my arm, but thankfully, the nails were now gone.

"So," Ryou spoke up, seeing that we were all situated, and probably a good halfway to the Center by now, "How, exactly, are we going to go about this?"

Malik just shrugged, Ra giving him a glare as he was jostled unpleasantly. "I dunno."

Ryou's hand slapped against his forehead with a groan. "This was your idea! You don't have any sort of plan on how we're supposed to get inside?"

"And you're surprised at this, because...?" Ra drawled, growling softly when Malik purposefully shook his shoulder in retaliation to the comment. The phoenix-dragon's voice sounded... strange, compared to Ryou or Malik, or my own Ka, for that matter. It was... fainter, and had a distant, reverberant quality to it. Like he was speaking into a cavern, and his voice was echoing off of the walls.

"Good point," Ryou hummed, and Malik sneered at him in that sibling kind of way. I rolled my eyes at the pair.

"Back on topic, please?" I sighed.

"Sorry," they replied in unison.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about sneaking in, after all!" Amane suddenly exclaimed from Ryou's right, pointing at a building in the distance, "Look!"

The building, from what I could tell, was a single story high – which looked rather out-of-place, given the taller, business-oriented towers around it. The exterior was smooth-looking, so I could debunk that the outside walls, at least, were made up of some sort of metal. Steel, maybe. The roof was rounded upwards in a subtle, dome-like shape, and there were a few tinted, scenic windows at the front of the building. A single, run-of-the-mill, push-and-pull door sat in a slight indentation made into the otherwise smooth exterior, also made up of glass, and wrapped in a secure-looking, dark metal frame. There was a smallish parking area to the building's left, where two or three vehicles sat. Neatly trimmed hedges lined small, well-maintained flowerbeds rimming the walls of the structure, with a few bushels of small, sweet-smelling blossoms planted at the bed's outer boundary. There was a sign a few yards from the building's entrance, looking similar to something someone would find posted outside of a dentist's office.

"Domino City Kindred Matching Center", it read. I felt an excited grin begin to show on my face. Behind the tinted windows, there was an unnaturally warm light glowing through. It was dim, but in the dark of night, it was easy to guess what it was.

There were still people working inside!

I fought the sudden urge to run the remainder of the way to the front door, trying to keep composure over the frantic, ecstatic buzzing that filled my chest and sent my heart soaring.

I was going to find out who my Kindred was!

I felt tiny, clawed fingers clutch at the fabric over my shoulder, and I knew that Arceus was experiencing the same, rapturous joy and exhilaration that I was. I glanced down at his small head, and our eyes met a moment. He managed a fanged, very dragon-like grin – something very uncommon, coming from my level-headed, rather dignified Ka – and I couldn't help but to chuckle. Yes, I did feel some guilt for sneaking out, and directly going against my grandfather's wishes, but I was certain that this would be worth it!

Arceus lay his small, pointed head against my shoulder, giving a tiny hum, that sounded like a high-pitched purr. His mental presence did not change with his size, though his physical (or rather, metaphysical) one did. For example, no matter how his spiritual body changed, his mental "voice" sounded deeply regal, comforting, yet fiercely protective, all at once. However, the smaller his manifestation, the more high-pitched he would sound, on the odd moments he actually found it worth his time to speak aloud. Since no-one other than Malik, Ryou, and myself (and their Ka, of course) could actually hear anything he may or may not have had to say, I knew that he found it a little tiresome. So, usually, nearly all communication between us was done mentally.

You ready for this, Arceus? He shook his head slowly, giving a rare display of uncertainty. One that I certainly was not used to seeing. Good, said I, and as we drew close to the entryway, I could feel the nervous anticipation in the air, because neither am I.

"I think it'd be best for you three to disappear, for the time being," Ryou spoke softly, though not unkind, "I don't really know the rules or regulations of these kinds of places, but it's better safe than sorry."

Five hesitant nods answered his statement, two of them belonging to Arceus and myself. Yes, that would be the best option, for now, just in case. However, the thought of not having my Ka's form weighing over my shoulder made me want to turn tail and book it back home. I was so close to finding the key to unlocking my life, my future. It was just inside of this door. And that fact threatened to overwhelm me.

"Fear not, Little One," Arceus cooed out loud, albeit quietly, into my ear, "I will be by your side the entire time. Whether you can see me or not." His textured muzzle rubbed gently against the shell of my ear, and I could feel the warm puffs of air from his nostrils tickling at my neck. Funny, how a spiritual manifestation needed to breathe... Though, it only made sense, the way his chest moved in sync with my own. Just as our hearts beat in rhythm, and our minds resided on the save wavelength.

He was a piece of me. Part of who I was, heart and soul.

And now, I could finally find the one who held the other half.

The inside of the building was rather different from what I had expected. Unlike the sleek, futuristic scene that had been set on its exterior, the room my brothers and I had entered (our Ka now securely stowed away inside of their own Soul Rooms) was set up in a way that had be immediately compare it to the waiting room at a dentist's office. The floors were a generic, dark-brown shade, with walls painted in a light, woodsy beige. There was an information desk directly in front of the glass-paned door, with a large space off to our immediate left filled with chairs. They were wide and sturdy-looking, with an oak frame, and pale, creamy-colored cushions that seemed to be made out of a faux leather product that lined the scenic windows, and walls beyond them. All together, there were accommodations fit enough to seat maybe twenty people.

The only thing that stood out, was a door to our right, behind the front desk. Whereas everything else was warm, homey, and earth-themed, this door had a striking, metallic sheen that stood out like a sore thumb in the moderate lighting. There were no windows, no hinges along one side, or even a handle to use. There seemed to be a small, square-shaped indentation at the door's center – framed by the thinnest of lines, which hinted at it being removable. What it was for, I didn't know.

There were two women seated behind the desk, looking tired and ultimately bored, for the most part. Upon our entrance, however, their attentions drifted from one another, over to my brothers and I. Their eyes widened marginally with surprise, but I honestly couldn't blame them. After all, who else would expect to see three random teens visiting a Matching Center well past twelve in the morning? Why this place was even open was a total mystery to me!

"Uh, good... morning," I spoke up quietly, mouth suddenly having gone dry, eyes darting to the clock that hung to the wall behind the heads of the two women, with its tiny black "hands" now indicating that it was freaking twelve thirty in the A-M, "We... We were wondering if you could help us...?"

One of the women, with short, dark blonde hair styled in a pixie-cut fashion, rose an eyebrow to us questioningly. "Sure..." she drawled, the word drawn out and a tad over exaggerated, in my opinion. Her light, hazel eyes cast over us skeptically. "What'cha need?"

"W-Well, you see, Miss," I murmured hesitantly, trying to come up with an explanation as to why, exactly, the three of us had any sort of business visiting the Center at nearly one o'clock in the morning. "We're here to find out who our Kindred are, obviously, and well..."

The woman gave us a disbelieving look. "And this couldn't wait until later, because...?" Her brunette-haired companion had a suspicious glint in her dark eyes, and I saw her slowly began to lean towards what appeared to be a telephone. Thinking quickly, and panic making me act a little brash, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind:

"Well, you see, my poor, poor little brother-" I gave the slightest of motions towards Ryou, who I could tell was trying his damnedest to not make the glance he shot me look overly related to the words 'what the ever-loving hell are you talking about?' "-he's been very weak and sickly, ever since we were little, and his illness began to worsen as we got older, so..."

"S-So he's been in the hospital, y'know, sick, for the past year or two. Trying to get better!" Malik quickly added. I nodded, putting on my best 'oh please won't you take pity on us?' expression. I was never very good at lying, nor acting, for that matter.

"There were times we feared he wouldn't make it!" I contributed dramatically, trying to look as if I were pained, "I spent every possible moment by his side, even postponing the opportunity to find out the identity of my Kindred," I dared to spare a glance towards the two. The blonde wide-eyed and the brunette had a hand pressed to her mouth in astonishment. "So when the poor, ailing thing had to spend his sixteenth birthday bedridden in the hospital, he was just so heartbroken at not being able to come down to the Matching Center to discover who his own Kindred would be!" I added, "The three of us made a promise that day, to wait until our brother began to recover, before coming here and sharing the experience together!"

It was then, that Malik (as always) decided to continue in our little charade, successfully throwing us beyond the point of no return. "And oh, the cruelty of it all," he wailed, making sure our captivated audience felt his hammed-up exclamation of sorrow, "When we were to discover that his illness was only growing worse! So, we decided, that tonight, it was now or never! We smuggled him out of that Gods-forsaken room, needing to keep that sacred promise, before our dear, sweet Ryou could no longer be here to fulfill it!"

There were two, twin gasps of horror and sadness from the pair, both looking ready to start crying at any moment. "Oh, Gods, I'm so sorry!" the blonde whispered, eyes falling upon the whitenette with such profound grief and sympathy. Ryou, however, was just standing there, giving Malik and I one of the most confounded expressions I had ever seen on him.

Returning the two ladies' look of despair, I nodded. With the momentary distraction, I shot a quick glare at the bemused albino, and shifted the heel of one foot back subtly, before digging it into the toe of his sneaker. As he bent forward with and expression of discomfort, Malik shifted his arm ever-so-slightly, so that his elbow nailed poor Ryou right below the ribcage. He gasped loudly in pain, as I could literally hear the breath being stolen from his lungs, and I flinched as his hands came up to clasp at his abused side. Sorry! I mentally shouted to him. I maneuvered my foot to hook behind his own, and sweep it from beneath him forcing him to stumble into a halfway-slumped position. Malik, once more, made sure to knock with wind from his chest with another, open-palmed smack to the abdomen as the Egyptian went to 'catch' him. I turned around in mock-worry (though I would be lying if I said there wasn't some actual concern, after what Malik and I had just done to the poor guy), adding in a gasp for dramatic effect.

Ryou groaned in pain, making the two in front of us cry out in panic. "Is he alright? What happened?!" the blonde shouted, hands flailing in her sudden fear. The brunette offered to call the hospital, but stopped at the other's sharp retort. "No, you ditz! They smuggled the poor thing from his room to get him here! Imagine what would happen if they were found out? Ooh, Gods, are you alright?" she repeated.

Ryou gasped for air for a moment, and I stooped to one knee beside him, the regret on my face no longer an act, this time around. Ryou's normally-docile, doe-brown eyes glared up at me with fury. And I knew, there would be hell to pay when this was all over with. "Sorry," I mouthed to him, before wrapping an arm over his back, as if to support and keep him upright. "Oh no, Ryou! I-Is it your heart? Is it hurting you again?" I didn't exactly know what kind of 'illness' could effect the heart of a person, but it seemed to be the best bet when coming down to the severity of things.

Ryou just glared again, before his face dissolved into one of (somewhat) false pain, and his fingers gripped into his shirt more tightly. "Y-Yes," he stammered, trying to put up as much of a vulnerable front as he could to the receptionists, though I was beyond sure that we had gotten them convinced by this point. "I-I'm afraid so. I-I-It hu-hurts to... to breathe-!" He added a few shallow coughs for effect, bring a fist to his lips. I had to bite back a small, amused grin.

Well, wasn't somebody a natural-born actor?

By now, the women had crowded up to us, fretting over him like mothers would over their child. "O-Oh, yes, I-I'll be fine... it will p-pass." A feeble expression of grief came over his pale face. "A-As will I, someday soon... Which is why we came here s-so late." I bowed my head, staring at the floor as my shoulders trembled with the overwhelming urge to laugh. Malik was less subtle, his frame shaking, and stifled snickers leaving his throat. However, in the stage we had set, the two employees mistook them for attempts to smother sobs.

His eyes began to water with crocodile tears, and I pretended to wipe my own away from my eyes while they were hidden from sight. "Ev-Even if it's just once, I... I want to meet my Kindred. I-I want to know them, an-and see them, and h-hold them... whi-while I still can-!" He broke off, feigning to be too overcome with emotion to continue speaking, adding in a few more coughs for effect.

Ryou – quiet, kind, empathetic Ryou – already had these (respectively, very kind) girls wrapped around his little finger!

"Oh, bless your devoted heart!" the previously-suspicious brunette whimpered to our white-haired companion, a hand pressing to her heart, "Any soul lucky enough to be Kindred to one like yours is sure to cherish whatever time it is you can spend together!"

"We've already wasted too much of your time!" the pixie-haired blonde exclaimed apologetically, "Please, follow me, and I'll show you what to do, alright?"

I gently set my hand on her shoulder, and she glanced to me. "Please, Miss, can we please go with him? We are family, after all, and just... I fear to leave him on his own for too long, what with his illness..." I lowered my head slightly, making sure the odd golden fringe framing across my eyes would hang in front of them, and pulling my lips into the smallest of pouts. I looked up, into her hazel eyes, to finish the effect, hitting the young lady full-force with my patented Puppy Eyes. I could sense the cringing of Malik and Ryou beside me.

They were seasoned veterans to the Eyes. And they still crumbled before them every single time.

I had to withhold a smirk.

Truth be told... it was absolutely fantastic.

There was some hesitation – even a complete idiot could assume that the Matching process was very personal, and therefore meant to be done privately – but resistance was futile. The Eyes and the sob-story were quick to win her over to our side. She nodded her silent consent, and quickly led us to the out-of-place door at the back of the room, while Malik and I helped Ryou to his feet (the poor guy was still trying to catch his breath!) before following behind her. The brunette took her place behind the desk, quietly sniffling and wiping away the few tears that had fallen during our dramatic escapade. I... felt rather guilty, really, making them cry.

Briefly breaking away from the small group, I reached over to a conveniently-placed box of tissues placed at the closest edge of the rounded front desk, and swiped one from its confines in a smooth movement. I offered a tiny smile as I offered it to her from in between my index and middle fingers, and she took it with a similar expression. As I merged with the group once more, I briefly saw as the blonde typed in a pass-code into what looked to be a keypad. It was centered in the handle-less door, where the indentation had been.

Huh. I guess it was removable... In a sense.

"I can't personally walk you through the entire process, unfortunately," she explained, and the door gave a mechanical whirr, sliding open to reveal a bland hallway – it was colored exactly like the outside room – "But I can tell you what to expect, and what you should do as the test progresses."

Test? I mentally echoed.

There was a light chortle of amusement that echoed through my head, and I could tell that Arceus was currently trying to keep a steady stream of laughter at bay. I highly doubt, after a performance as moving as that, he quipped teasingly, a little test will be any trouble for you three.

Sh-Shut up! I gave as a feeble counterattack, trying to hold back a blush at my Ka's words. Arceus chuckled again, but thankfully fell silent; probably deciding to save my humiliation for a later date. When it would work to his advantage, I'd wager.

"You'll have to enter your basic information. Name, age, residence, blood type – if you know it – and so on. A picture of you will be taken, and facial recognition will help to pair your info up with any other kind of documentation in the system. Birth certificates and other legal documentation. There is a small... examination, of sorts, conducted on the composition of your souls. Aureole – magic, and-or aura – samples will have to be taken from the both the host body's Ba and Ka, to enter you into the system and aid in searching for your Match. Every soul has a limit to how much power it can contain. This is represented by a wavelength scale, like the frequencies of a sound or light wave; a physical representation of your spiritual aura. The more dramatic the slopes of the wavelengths are, the higher the frequency. And the higher the frequency, the more powerful your spiritual bond is.

"As for the sample... It can be anything that is a piece of your own body, but it has been... partially proven, that something closer to the heart tends to have stronger, more swift results. Most people give up a few drops of blood for this, but you can also use a strand of hair, or something else you'd be more comfortable with giving up. Don't worry – everything is cleaned and sanitized both before and after each Matching."

I hummed quietly in thought. "What about the Ka?" I questioned after a moment. The answer was... somewhat delayed, but in a thoughtful kind of way.

"For your Ka... hm..." She stopped at the end of the corridor, also ending with a metal door. "I suppose it would depend, really." From my side, Ryou gave her a look, silently requesting elaboration. "Well, for those with humanoid Ka, or with a softer exterior, blood is again the more recommended option. For those with a harder exterior, such as an arthropod exoskeleton, or a draconian skin, shell or scale shards, sometimes even nail clippings, would be the easier choice. If you have an avian Ka, feathers would be your best bet. Mechanic, metal shavings or sometimes traces of gunpowder work. Those with less corporeal bodies need only to hover in front of the depository unit for a short while, so it can gain a sample, atmospheric or naturally based Ka just need a sample of their given element, and so on. Again, the closer to one's heart, the more potent the aura. Therefore, the better the chance at being Matched quickly and precisely."

"Ah, question," Malik interjected, "When you say 'quickly and precisely', do you mean... we could be Matched with the wrong Kindred?" The three of us exchanged worried looks, while her back still faced us.

She made an unsure noise, going to open that little keypad-indentation center in the doorway. "Not... necessarily. Obviously, your Kindred is like a shard of the soul – just like the Ka and Ba in a host body. That's how the program works. By finding others, whose souls lie within the same frequency – or wavelength, if you will – of each other. That's how one finds their partner. But, sometimes... the difference between aureole frequencies can be a little harder to distinguish. Those are the ones that take more time for a comparison. Some even have more than one Kindred, so to speak. That's where it gets rather... confusing. However, the occurrence is very, very rare. Even so, with so many different orientations to go through – this is a worldwide database, mind you! – it... can take some time. So, speedy results are dependent on the strength in one's magical aura. The stronger the signal, the quicker the results, as I said before. It can last anywhere from a few minutes, to a few days for anything to show up. And until the results are found, the subject must stay inside the chambers until they appear. For privacy's sake, you know."

She paused a moment, as the keyboard opened, and glanced over her shoulder at us. More specifically, at Ryou, who still had his arm slung over Malik's shoulders in an absent way. He'd put it there when we kind of... half-helped, half-dragged him back here. I saw her eyes soften, looking sad but hopeful. "I just pray that you'll find your Kindred as quickly as you can," she murmured to him earnestly, a hand hovering over her heart. "All three of you."

Not sure what else to say, I just nodded. I could sense Ryou and Malik doing the same. A few days?! I shrieked internally, and I could feel Arceus flinch at the volume our Bond emitted. We can't afford to be stuck in here for more than an hour or two! There's three of us needing to be Matched, and even then we still need to get back home, and sneak in through the skylight before Jii-chan wakes up! What if he gets up and checks on us all before we're even home?

I could sense him trying to send serene feelings and thoughts across our mental link as the kind woman opened the door, and waved us inside. Just be calm, little one, he soothed, Getting yourself stressed isn't going to help your aura. Nor the rate of which we receive our outcome. Just... breathe. It will be alright.

I just sighed, trying to keep the heavy breath quiet. I looked up, deciding to observe the room ahead of me instead. I felt my steps falter a moment as I did.

The room was... medium in size. About the size of the sitting room and kitchen pushed together, back home. So it was decent. Resting dead-center in the room, however, was the strangest contraption I had ever laid eyes on! Like the shape of the building, it was circular, almost dome-shaped. There were several compartments all facing towards the center of this... ritualistic-looking setup. Walls made of thick metal sliced evenly through several points of the device, with the heavy, insulating roof arching above them. Each space was roughly five-by-five foot, standing at what I could guess as seven feet tall. From the ceiling, there was a thick pillar of wires hanging down, entering the structure right at its center-point. Peering inside one of rooms, I could see a computer-like device. A large keyboard and flattened screen, stretching the length of the entire back wall. A light shone down from somewhere in the ceiling. Two small, square-shaped pillars stood directly in front of the keyboard, with one pressed against the leftmost wall, the second to the right. Somewhere behind us, the woman flipped a switch, or entered a code of some sort, and I could catch glimpses of systems and machines powering on in three of the rooms.

Confused, I turned to look at her. She was hovering by the threshold of this new room. Obviously, this was as far as she was permitted to go. "I thought that the Matching process was usually done... y'know, alone and in private?" I... somewhat asked, somewhat pointed out, to her. Even if I'd convinced her to let us go through this... "test", together, it didn't seem very private to begin with. She just gave a tolerant smile, and nodded.

"Usually, when a person enters their individual compartment, I would enter a security code that would cause a door to slide in place behind them, therefore isolating them from the outside until results are given, or an override code is entered, to release them from inside. But, in the case of... you and your brothers," again, her expression took on a saddened look, "I will keep the doorways open so you can communicate freely amongst yourselves. However, if we were – though I highly doubt it – to have another person come in also looking to be Matched, standard protocol will have to be enforced. Oh, don't worry though! There's a panic button, of sorts, that you can press, which will immediately open the doors, should they have to be closed, and another setting you can choose to contact anyone at the front desk. In the case, that there's an emergency and immediate attention is needed."

An absentminded hum left my throat, as the three of us gradually inched closer and closer to...

The other half of our soul, whispered my Ka, and I couldn't help but to grin giddily at his words.

The door was closed as the blonde woman exited, giving a small wish for good fortune upon us. I subconsciously gripped Ryou's hand – which had somehow found its way into my own – as the three of us eagerly made our way to the three, private segments. I drifted into the middlemost compartment, Ryou into the left, and Malik into the right. My palm felt surprisingly chilled as Ryou's reassuring presence physically slipped away, and the warmth and energy of Malik's enthusiasm was partially cut off by reinforced steel, lined with some sort of... soundproofing material I didn't know the name of.

"You guys ready for this?" I found myself asking aloud, knowing my voice could reach them from the open doorways at our backs.

Two muffled, simultaneous shouts of "nope!" was my reply. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Me either!"

The screen gave a small flash of light, and the sentence please input information showed up in white, block-y text against a pale, electronic blue backdrop. My fingers ran across the smooth keyboard, as I entered what I could into the required fields. I flinched back, as a grid of incandescent beams struck over my body out of thin air, and then vanished breaths later. Suddenly, several pages of documents began to flash up onto the screen, surprising me. It, too, was gone within moments, and I watched as the computer quickly spelled out my life's story for me to read.

Name: Mutou Yuugi

Birth: 06:27, June 4th

Age: 16 Years

Height: 153cm

Weight: 42kg

Gender: Male

Blood Type: AB

Parents: Mutou Daichi (Father) – Deceased; Mutou Ashita (Mother) – Deceased

Extended Family: Ishtar-Mutou Malik (Brother, Adoptive) – Living; Bakura Ryou (Brother, Adoptive) – Living; Mutou Shinonome (Paternal Grandmother) – Deceased; Mutou Sugoroku (Paternal Grandfather, Legal Guardian) – Living

Residence: Domino City, Tokyo Providence, Japan

Educational Status: Unknown

Ka: Unknown

Attribute: Unknown

Subtype: Unknown

No known educational records. No known criminal records. No known records of physical/medical conditions and/or handicaps.

…

Please provide Ba Aureole sample for examination and comparison.

I started as a small whirr sounded. Two thin, metal plates drew back from the surface of the square pillar at my left. It began to glow with a deep, royal blue light. It glanced around, as if looking for something, despite knowing that there was nothing in that little room to help me at the moment. Didn't she say blood tended to work best for this? I mean, it did run closest to the heart, didn't it? But I wasn't exactly comfortable with having to cut into my own skin, even if it was just for a few drops of blood...

"Uh..."

Try focusing on your hand? Arceus suggested quietly, We don't need much. Try... scratching or biting, just enough to break the skin. I felt my gums and fingertips begin to tingle as my Ka gently urged a partial Merging. I could feel his excitement, his anticipation.

Gods, is this really happening? I couldn't help but to think, Are we really... at the Center? Are we really about to find out who our Kindred is? A sudden surge of emotion filled my chest as Arceus gave a mental affirmative, and I found myself staring at that little, blue-lighted square for a few seconds. Before I knew what was happening, a tiny sniffle sounded, and something hot raced down my cheek. I felt liquid drip down my chin, and I startled as an automated noise broke the silence. My eyes darted to the screen again, slightly blurred.

Sample accepted. Please provide Ka Aureole sample for examination and comparison.

I looked down to the scanner in front of me, and the cover slid shut again. I could just barely catch the glimpse of a translucent, faintly shining droplet against the glass-like surface of the device. I sniffed again, surprise filling me as I quickly wiped my eyes. Oh Gods, did I just cry onto some... high-tech thing without even realizing it?! Watch it put the word "crybaby" into my information!

"Yuugi?" I heard Ryou's muted voice call, "Are you okay? Something up?"

I wiped my eyes again, voice a little thick when I found my voice again. "Y-Yeah Ryou, I-I'm fine!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah! Just a little... overwhelmed."

There was a sympathetic noise – how I could actually hear it through this soundproofed place, I really have no idea – but otherwise, I was left to my own devices. Which I was actually quite glad for. It gave me some more time to... think...

Something close to the heart... I pondered, managing to shake away from prior embarrassment with surprising ease. What should we take from you, Arce'?

Well, the dragon mused back, and I felt a familiar tugging sensation as my Ka went to manifest, I am... not sure if blood would be able to work from my standpoint, considering. And a scale... does not seem entirely close to the heart.

I glanced to my right, just in time to see my Ka's spirit manifest. He was a little bigger than a large dog, his long, spiky-soft neck craning as he observed the scanner he was to leave a sample for. My amethyst eyes raked over him in thought. I doubt he would be able to produce any sort of tear in earnest, so that certainly wouldn't work... And even if his scales feel soft and warm to my touch, I highly doubt that we would be able to find one loose enough to remove and offer up as a sample. Nails certainly weren't a very heartfelt thing to give up. And, considering the defensive, scaly skin he had, drawing blood would be like trying to drill a hole through metal with nothing more than a dull nail.

I paused.

Wait a minute...

"What about that?" I spoke out loud. My finger pointed nonchalantly to the bizarre, golden, upside-down triangle patch at the very center of his chest. His silver-lavender eyes tracked down his neck and chest slowly, one clawed hand coming to brush over the out-of-place "scales" in consideration. Close to his heart, unique when held in comparison to the rest of his body, and honestly... it was probably his favorite part of his appearance. Myself included, really. It was rather beautiful.

I smiled at the silent decision we had come to, and bent down to one knee. I lightly skimmed my fingers across the patch, running carefully over the eye-like shape at its center. "One sec'," I warned, "This might be kind of uncomfortable." Giving in to the gentle tingles from earlier, I watched as the nail of my left index finger went from normal and human, to long, thick, and dragon-like. The tip was hooked and razorblade-sharp, and I experimentally tapped it to the pad of my thumb. I tried to hold back a wince as it easily slipped into the skin, and drew back with the tiniest smudge of blood tinting the ends with pale red.

My Ka patiently stretched his great neck upwards, head held high, but still inclined to watch me in his own sense of curiosity. The concept of pain or discomfort, as I had previously mentioned it, did not seem to faze him. So, I gingerly put that sharp talon to the patch over his chest, at the corner closest to when his heart lay. Careful to not put too much pressure on the metallic skin, I quickly drew the claw over it, peeling up a fine thread of curling, metal-like substance as it went. I gasped quietly as a faint stinging sensation followed the same path, only on my own chest. I heard Arceus gave a small snort of annoyance at the feeling.

"Sorry, Arceus," I murmured, rubbing a hand over the sting on my own body to quell it. I brushed a finger gingerly over the thin, two-inch scratch as an apology, and he just snorted. All was well.

I retracted the claw, so it became normal again, leaving behind a flat, smooth fingernail in its place. I examined the shred of gold between my fingers. Like the rest of my Ka, it held the fainest of silver-white glows around it. I exhaled, before glancing at the device at my right. And, for what was probably the fourth time that night, I asked: "Are you ready for this?"

His answer was the same. A hushed "no" with the hints of a smile.

I chuckled, despite feeling as if the breath had been stolen from my lungs. "Me either," I repeated, before dropping the golden thread onto the machine, and biting my lip in nervousness.

Sample accepted. Updating information...

I blinked. "Eh?"

The text from before, with my personal data on it, reappeared, scrolling across the screen in white as if someone were rapidly typing it all out again from another room. It was generally the same, only, this time...

Ka: Lightsworn Dragon – Arceus

Attribute: Hikari (Light)

Subtype: Dragon

And then the image I have been waiting to see for sixteen years.

Update complete. Beginning database analysis.

Searching for potential Matches...

And I sat there, and I watched, as data and profiles began to flash up onto the right part of the screen, in a rapid succession that gave me less than a second to look at what was showing. I could see glimpses of faces, flashes of a name, or age, or location. A strange, squiggly line of some kind below it. Some looked loose as a limp thread. Others, curling like a spring.

One half of the screen stayed the same. It held my picture – thinking now, that was probably what that strange, gridded light was for – in the corner of one side. To the side of my photograph, it held abbreviated versions of my basic data; my name, age, gender, birthdate, and the country I lived in. Below this, was a bar, of sorts, showing something... a little bit odd, in my personal opinion. It was a line that curved up and down multiple times, creating thin raises and divots in its form. Like something you'd see on a heart monitor, only much more intense.

The words of the young woman who had led us here came rushing back to me.

"Every soul has a limit to how much power it can contain. This is represented by a wavelength scale, like the frequencies of a sound or light wave; a physical representation of your spiritual aura. The more dramatic the slopes of the wavelengths are, the higher the frequency. And the higher the frequency, the more powerful your spiritual bond is."

The... frequency, as she had put it, to mine and Arceus' Bond was... was... It looked like some random five-year-old decided to take a crayon and make the tallest, most thinly-spaced of scribbles they could manage all over the computer screen! Even I had a hard time trying to find where one arch ended, and another one began! And I was standing right in front of the stupid thing!

I fell silent in contemplation, focusing in on the connection of Ba and Ka that Arceus and I held. If it were tangible, I could picture it as some sort of thick, glowing chain between us. Tying our hearts to one another, within a single body. I could feel it thrumming with life and strength. Something I had never thought too much of before. But, here and now, seeing the things that I was...

Am I... Are we... really that powerful? I found myself wondering. The short, cherub-faced boy, and the regal, crystalline-skinned dragon. Sharing a host body. One that had been hidden away from the world ever since the man and woman whom had created it together left this mortal realm. The one that had been picked on by other bodies, shared by more mean-spirited Ba and Ka, on those rare, few-and-far-between interactions with others? One whose Ba had never... never really thought much about himself. And now, who can only think, how can we possibly have that kind of strength? How can something so unassuming, be so... so...

And how can you have such doubt towards yourself? I heard Arceus rumble mentally. He shifted, and I sensed his presence draw closer as the beast came to seat himself at my side. I glanced over to him as he raised his head in that subconsciously regal pride of his, standing a few inches taller than myself. His lavender-hued eyes were docile, and observant as he apathetically observed the flashing of the screen before us. For a moment, I could picture Malik and Ryou, doing the same with Ra and Amane.

What? I ask, and his visible eye darts to me for a fleeting moment.

His stance relaxed, and one glowing wing stretched towards me. I felt the gentle membrane settle across my back, the wrist of the appendage coming to lightly scratch against the base of my neck and skull. The long, spindly fingers of it curled ever-so-slightly, making a hammock of the membranous skin to my side. I grunted as Arceus pulled in, drawing me close. You do not think highly of yourself, he murmured with a sage-like essence, One could say you see yourself as inferior to myself. And do not try to object, Yuugi, he added, as I opened my mouth to do just that, I am a piece of you. I can hear what you are thinking. And, as a part of your soul, you should know that you are, in no way, lesser than I. You are my Ba, and I am your Ka. Two parts of a shared soul. We are equal in every sense of the term. Even if you do not see it that way.

I looked down, inhaling slowly. I opened my mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by a high-pitched ding! I looked up in time to see a new line of text scrawl across a now-settled monitor.

Aureole Match found. Retrieving information.

My eyes widened as a new page came up.

Name: Sennen Yami

Birth: 06:27, June 4h

Age: 16 Years

Height: 160cm

Weight: 47kg

Gender: Male

Blood Type: AB

Parents: Unknown

Extended Family: Roshannai (Mother, Adoptive) – Deceased; Sennen Bakura (Brother, Adoptive) – Living; Sennen Marik (Brother, Adoptive) – Living

Residence: Unknown

Educational Status: Unknown

Ka: Dark Judgment Dragon – Oscuridad

Attribute: Yami (Darkness)

Subtype: Dragon

No further records found.

His magic's frequencies were in the same, overpoweringly scribbled state as my own.

There was a picture. I felt the air leave my lungs.

Sharp features, an oddly familiar mass of tri-colored hair, and striking, garnet-red eyes.

The first thoughts I had after reading was we were born at the same time; the second oh my Gods, look at that face; the third, their names sound so... alluring; and the fourth, his eyes are so pretty...

The rest was kind of a jumbled mess.

Arceus nodded in a kind of wonder I had never seen with him hummed. It appears that his Ka is also a dragon... However, our Attributes are completely opposite of one another. The subtype is the same, though.

Another pause, and then:

His eyes are rather pretty.

I laughed, in spite of myself.

"Yuugi?" I heard two voices call from either side of me. Both sounded... a little off. Bewildered, astonished even. Like they were in awe of something. And I knew, that my brothers were looking to their own screens, and straight into the faces of who held the other part to their soul. "Everything okay?" Ryou added after a moment.

My mouth moved without conscious thought. "I..." My throat suddenly tightened, and I had to swallow down the surge of emotion that sang its way through me. "R-Ryou, Ma-Malik... Guys, I-I found him!" I laughed again, breathless, enraptured, happy, in disbelief. I felt a tear run down my cheek, but made no move to wipe it away. "I f-found him! I can see him!"

Anything they may have said in reply was lost to me, as I found myself latching my arms over Arceus' scaly neck, and squeezing as hard as I could in a mixture of excitement and anxiety and happiness that I didn't know what else to do. I knew that it wouldn't hurt or discomfort him in any way. "We found them," I murmured quietly to him, repeating it like a mantra, "We found them, Arceus!"

It felt as if everything were finally falling into place.

Yuugi and Arceus, the Ba and Ka; and now... Yami and Oscuridad, our Sheut and Ib.

Something Jii-chan told Malik, Ryou, and I when we were younger came to mind. It was one of the only times he had openly spoken of the concept of Kindred, and the bond between them. It hadn't been long since Malik and Ryou's Ka had awoken, and Arceus had been with me for several months at the time. So we had asked him about our Ka, and what they were. Why they were there.

"The soul is split into five pieces," he had said to us. "The Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib.

"Your Ka is one of those pieces. They are a segment of your soul. You are a part of that, as well; called the 'Ba'. The Ba is thought to be everything that makes someone special!" I remember the way he had sounded, so full of wonder and wisdom, as if explaining the world's secrets, even if a lot of the words he'd used at the time hadn't really made sense to me. Which, in a way, he had been. "The Ka is your vital essence. It is what shows the difference between life and death, and will be the form you will take when your time in the mortal world is over.

"Your Kindred is another two parts of the soul. In a way, you both share a single soul – one that's just been split in between you. Where they are the Ba and Ka to each other, they will be the Sheut and Ib to you and your Ka, and you will be the same to them. The Sheut... is much like your shadow; they are always present, and holding a piece of what you represent, as a person. And what would be your Kindred's Ka, would be your Ib. They are your metaphysical heart – the seat of emotion, thought, will, and intention. They are a key to you finding the Afterlife when you pass away, just as your Ka is to your Sheut. The Ib is what the Gods use to decide on whether your soul is pure enough to join them in the Afterlife, or not."

"What about Ren?" Ryou had asked.

"Ren, my boy, is your name, given to you at birth. As long as your Ren is spoken and remembered, your soul will live on in the Afterlife. The Bond connecting all parts of your spirit is called Akh. However, once the Ren is forgotten, you and your Kindred will be reborn into the world. And then the cycle repeats itself!"

He had looked rather pleased with himself at that moment.

"That is why Kindred are so special! They hold the other half of your soul, and are your key to living happily both in the world of the living and the dead. It is also why we pray for the names of our loved ones after they've passed, so they can spend as much time together in the Afterlife as they can, before having to be separated and search for each other again."

"Like Kaa-san did for Tou-san?" I had asked, recalling the nightly occurrences where I would find my mother before my father's shrine in our old home. Sometimes she'd be silent, others she would be speaking in a hushed voice. Now and again, I would see her cry. It made me sad, too. I couldn't – nor did I want to – imagine being forced away from a half of your soul the way she had been. It must have hurt. "Or you and Baa-chan?"

He'd looked pained for a moment, at that, and it was in that moment that I had concluded:

Yes, being separated from your Kindred did hurt. It hurt a lot. Which was a large part of the reason why I had never understood why Jii-chan had tried to keep us from finding our own.

But we've found them, and I dared to think that... everything would be okay, now.

And that was when the power of my compartment cut out, and door behind me slammed shut.

Fallen: DUN-DUN-DUUUUUNNN. CLIFFHANGER. Not bad, if I do say so myself XD Oh, fun fact: this chapter officially breaks my personal record for the highest word count in a single chapter! Just over 12.5k – hot damn!

Nickey: Holy shitocky mushrooms! That was freaking intense... JUST SAYING! Lol! Well, I sure as hell hope this makes up for her long ass absence... :3 I think my brain might've died while scanning for errors XD Hope you all enjoyed though! Guess that means it's my turn now ^w^ Until next time *waves* Goodbye!

Fallen: Please leave a review, and tell us what you think? :) See you all in the next update!