Chapter 4

(this is flashback chapter from Yami's perspective)

Egypt is known for its great pyramids, the Sphinx, its many tombs and several other mysterious treasures it holds of the distant past. But, it is also one of the worst countries to grow up as a child. Aside from tourism, there isn't much to live from and pretty much every neighbour around the corner works or had once worked in a hotel or touristic attraction. Despite the country having the best educational system in Africa, it was still only for those who could afford it. And the few poor who could, well, they just ended up spending all their savings on their children's school fees and scraped whatever remains of little coins they had together to pay for food and clothes. Yami Sennen's situation had been no different when he was young, or rather when he was still called Atem Ghannam. He couldn't even begin to describe how much he hated that name.

Back in those days, Yami lived with his mother in a small, only half-completed house, not so far away from the centre of Hurghada. It was one of the many epitomes of Egypt that attracted many tourists, and children were often sent to the city centre to steal from them in order to survive. His mother would never tell him to do such a thing however, she had always been too kind-hearted for that, but Yami did it anyway. It was most likely a part of growing up in this godforsaken country.

Yami watched attentively as a bus of Spaniards and Portuguese arrived at the bus stop, several richly-dressed tourists getting off while admiring the "great" city of Hurghada and all its wonders, taking in the culture of people that Yami couldn't think of any less, after all it was his dying wish to one day leave this place behind him. He simply couldn't understand why people would even want to visit this shithole in the first place, if it weren't for their five-star hotels with several pools and built beachfronts. Even if he was only eight at the time, he knew which people to pick out that he could fool easily while grabbing for their wallets. Once he laid eyes on an older couple, he waited a few more minutes and followed them, then asked them for money, they declined (as usual), and remembered where there wallets were and snatched them from behind a bit later.

As he walked down the road, a malicious smirk on his face while counting his loot and already imagining what he would get with it this time, a kid not much older than him bumped into him and nearly made him tumble forward.

"HEY!" But as soon as Yami yelled, the boy was already miles away from him running off at incredible speed. It took a moment for Yami to realize he had managed to steal his plunder, but once he did, he cursed loudly and began chasing after him.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

People moved over or halted while two small children stormed through the streets, watching them as they chased each other in a game of cat and mouse, some of them looking astonished while the others continued their affairs as if having seen this play several times before.

Yami started to get out of breath. The boy in front of him was obviously really fast and, to put it bluntly, Yami was everything but a sports-type. He put one last effort in his chasing, but lost his prey in the crowd, and now he was left with nothing.

"Dang it!" Yami yelled while stamping his foot on the ground. He was annoyed to put it mildly, but in no despair to give up his chase yet. So he wandered the streets to find any alleys that he might think suitable for the thief to hide in, until he came across the same poof of white hair that had snatched his price. He stormed in the small alley, determined to teach the thief a lesson.

"There you are! Don't think that I'm going to – "

But his sentence halted halfway as he watched the white-haired boy look back at him, eyes gleaming with fury and taking a protective stance in front of a smaller girl with the same white hair. Yami recoiled, ashamed to admit that the glare he received made him shiver in his shoes.

The smaller girl hid behind her protector, watching with big eyes from behind as the two boys encountered each other for a silent death-match. But Yami couldn't find the guts in his heart to do anything really. He knew what was at stake here, so much was obvious when he realized his stolen money had already been exchanged for food. Food that the girl was eating rather than the boy, food which they seemed to desperately need due to their scrawny conditions.

"I'm not giving it back!" the white-haired boy spat, his arms still behind him to protect the girl.

Yami's gaze lowered, his frown pointing downwards as he was suddenly washed over with guilt. He couldn't steal his money back from them, he'd never forgive himself for that. Instead, he pondered over what to do to perhaps help these kids, but nothing really popped in his head.

"You can keep it," he answered passively, eyeing the white-haired boy without any emotions while they silently agreed that, in some odd way, they had taken a liking to each other. "What's your name?" Yami then asked, walking forward to take a seat on the ground, a curious smile on his face.

"Akefia," the boy answered and sat down next to him.

Yami's mother wasn't pleased when her only son knocked on the door and had brought two more children with him from the city. It was already hard enough to pay for one, which she excessively explained in her rampage of scolding and lecturing as why he couldn't take every homeless orphan to their house and just expect her to be okay with it.

But after a few weeks, Akefia and his sister had come to live with them, and while his mother knew well enough that she shouldn't, she let them anyway. It was Yami's first friend, he was after all a socially-awkward disaster and incapable of making any friends at school. Seeing how her son seemed to get along with Akefia for an unknown reason to her simply put her heart at ease, knowing that he now had someone to play and laugh with. And although they tended to get more into trouble that have innocent games, she had grown fond of the orphans.

Malik came a bit later in the picture, but once in also inseparable. Yami's mother worked hard to get Akefia into school again, and they met the third member of their future band in high school. Malik was a very collective, calm type, sometimes even creepy, and how they met wasn't exactly all puppies and sunshine. Malik had actually beaten Akefia up after having seen how he was bullying someone. Akefia wasn't happy when Yami credited the newly-recruited friend for his actions, thus beginning another odd friendship that made no sense to anyone, but after a while Akefia just accepted him. After all, Malik was a perfect fit for Yami's 'ultimate' plan to get out of Egypt. That being said, when Yami proudly proclaimed that his ultimate plan was to chase a musical career and start a band in America, Akefia and Malik just laughed it away over their school lunches and decided that Yami was, as they had always thought, insane.

Yami didn't really like to steal. He had done it plenty of times as a kid, but having grown older, he had developed enough morals to learn that stealing was just plain wrong. That, and he tended to shit his pants while doing it. Today wasn't any different.

As the trio of odd friends was unsuspiciously walking down the bazaar, snatching a necklace or wallet once in a while, Yami suddenly became aware that they were being watched. He grew nervous, frenziedly looking around while sweat was beading down his forehead. It didn't seem as if Akefia or Malik noticed anything, but something was just off, and it became painfully aware when Yami saw two guards walking their way between the herd of people.

"Guys," he said, not too loud for anyone to hear but loud enough for his friends, "I think we need to take a run."

Malik turned around, noticing the soldiers too. "Shit," he cursed, immediately after hurrying his pace to get the fuck out of there, but it was already too late. The soldiers had noticed it, and if they weren't going to take a run for it now, they might as well turn themselves in before things got ugly.

Yami felt Akefia's hand tug at his before he dragged him into an alley, and the trio of friends began running for their lives with a pace that they, unfortunately, had picked up from stealing all too often. They ran around every corner, trying to shake off the guards whom were yelling after them. Akefia got annoyed by the excess of 'shits' Yami was cursing, clearly freaking out over the entire situation and scared to death. They followed Malik and tried to catch up, yelling at each other once in a while which turn to take next and arguing between their pants, especially Yami that is, that it was all their fault and that his mother was going to kill him if she ever found out about this.

And he would learn that soon enough as they were suddenly abruptly halted by two officers appearing from behind a corner, Malik trying to stop before colliding into them but running way too fast, thus crashing into the soldiers one after the other, Yami taking the full blow at the back as he crashed hard into Akefia's back and tumbled on the ground as well.

This was definitely not a good day for them.

After the soldiers handcuffed them and took them to the police station, they had to remain seated in the waiting room while their ID's were being checked, three defeated looks fixedly pointing at the floor. They had been arguing for the past half hour about what went wrong, blaming it on the other before succumbing to a defeated silence, waiting for their death-penalty while doing so. The police had called their parents, but since Malik lived with his elder sister and brother and both pretty much had to work day in and day out to get by, and Akefia didn't have any parents at all, Yami's mother would come to pick them up instead.

"ATEM GHANNAM!"

Talking about his mother, there she was.

Yami was pretty much the male copy of his mother, she was an Egyptian beauty with long, wavy black curles and white meshes in between them (a rare trade in their family), the same dark-brown, crimson tinted eyes with large lashes and a sharp, strong face with prominent cheekbones that made her vigour look proud. Just like Yami she was small, smaller than her son actually now that he was already sixteen, and aside from her usually gentle and caring demeanor, she had the fury of a spanish dancer when done wrong. And today, Yami had done so, so wrong.

His face twitched in fear upon seeing his mother storming through the aisle, hiding behind Akefia to use him as a shield, but he seemed equally as reluctant to face his mother too. They both knew that Akili was not a pleasant woman to hang around with when angry.

"I cannot believe I had to leave work because the police called me! Everyone at work now knows that I have two delinquent sons busted while stealing from tourists! You two, should be embarrassed!" She scowled and pointed them a finger, both kids trembling in fear and pushing each other to take full impact for them. Her head then snapped left, where Malik sat in his chair, one leg bent over the other and his arms crossed, staring blankly in front of him. He'd get his share once his sister would return home. Or so he thought. "And you, Malik Ishtar! Don't think that I'm not disappointed in you either young man!"

Ah, he had forgotten how Akili was pretty much a mother-figure to him too.

After another half hour or yelling and cursing, they walked home in silence, Malik too because Akili was determined to babysit him until his sister got home to make sure he wouldn't work himself in any more trouble. Once home, it became apparent that Yami's mother wasn't just mad, she was awfully disappointed and sad. And it became clear that Yami was frustrated once she tried talking to him.

"Why did you do that, Até? You know better than –"

"I wanna get the fuck out of here." He blabbed abruptly, not letting her finish her sentence. He wasn't usually so snappy toward his mother, they had always been together so their bond was rather close, but Yami was growing more agitated every year to get out of Egypt. Every day is this shithole was another day wasted to him. He kept his eyes only fixed on the opportunity of getting out of this place and finally realizing his dream.

"You weren't always like this," she spoke softly, her demeanor suddenly shifting to gentle. But Yami knew his mother well enough, he knew that this was one of her tactics to make him talk, and he wasn't about to tell his mother that he was planning on leaving Egypt as soon as he had enough money to pay for a flying ticket. She'd be heart-broken, and he couldn't handle to see his mother cry. Besides, she'd never let him leave.

"You know," she continued, taking a seat next to her son in the couch, "you used to tell me everything when you were younger. What's changed? I want to help you, Até. You're still my baby and I love –"

"I grew up, mom. That's what happened." Trying to walk away, his mother placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Até, if this is about your father then –"

"This isn't about him at all!" He turned around, glaring at his mother, sensing how Akefia and his sister had entered the room as well after Ishizu had picked up her brother. "Why do you keep bringing him up?! I couldn't care less about him! He has nothing to do with it!"

By the way she reacted, it was obvious that his statement of denial had affected her. She knew how Yami thought of his father ever since he had left, and although it was everything but positive, she could not help but defend her husband. Even if she was well aware that his chance of return was slim, she loved him too much to badmouth him.

Yami noticed by the rolling of her lips that she was trying hard not to talk back to him, so that her son could voice his opinion, but it bothered him why she still thought of his father so saintwise, even after everything that had happened. He growled in frustration, drawing his mother's attention, before he looked her in the eyes again.

"When will it sink through your fucking head?! He's not coming back, okay?! He left us, he left us a long time ago and you're too fucking naive to accept that he's never coming home! Fighting a war my ass! He's been gone for nine years already, you don't honestly expect me to –"

The sound of a loud slap echoed in hollow tones through the room. Yami bit his tongue, feeling the aftermath of the strike throbbing on his cheek. Akefia held his breath but did not want to interfere, instead hugging his sister closer before she would start crying.

Akili was panting, but soon after the frown from before covered her beautiful face as she watched her son. A guilt washed over her that she tried to brush off, telling herself that she needed to get some sense back in him, and Yami wasn't exactly the easiest person to deal with. She rarely resorted to these solutions but sometimes, even for a gentle and loving mother like her, the pain and suffering became too much, and it just snapped.

Yami turned and ran away, outside of the house, as far as he possibly could. He didn't look back when his mother was shouting for him. Another minute in that room and he would've broken down.

In the few months that followed, there was little to no interaction in the household. Days became tedious, the boys went to school, they ate together in silence and then shared the rest of the night in their own rooms as to ignore each other as much as possible. Yami wouldn't talk about it, not about the police, nor his father. He was preparing to leave this country as soon as possible and was fixed on gathering the necessary money for it.

"You're not going to say goodbye?"

"No," Yami responded, lifting his bag and tossing it over his shoulder. He was surprised by how little he owned now that they were about to leave. "It's better this way."

Akefia rolled his eyes. He had told his sister yesterday that they were about to leave and in the hours of crying that had followed, he had started doubting this plan of Yami. It had just been the two of them since he was five, so that they would miss each other was only natural. But she understood and had told her brother she would act like a big girl and be mature. He had never been this proud in his life.

"If you're not saying goodbye, I am." Akefia said and got up. It was Yami's time to roll his eyes as he followed his friend, but instead of heading to the living-room he went on ahead and left already. There was no way in hell that he would look at his mother's eyes while telling her the news. He couldn't bare the idea of watching his mother cry.

Once he was well in the city, he waited for Akefia to join him, and they headed for the airport after meeting in silence. They wanted to be focused when trying to board Egypt, and talking about family issues was not a part of that.

Once in America, the three boys got the shittiest jobs they were able to get and worked day and night to afford the tiniest apartment to share. After a while, they decided to try out for some gigs in local pubs and bars, to start off small and get some practice. Living in NYC was hard. Not only was it expensive but it was also overwhelming in grotesque. Not exactly suitable material for under-aged high-school kids with fake identities and no legal citizenship. But they got by, just barely.

By the age of 18 and finally, legal adulthood, Yami did the boldest thing in his life. He signed them up for America's got Talent, and they earned a spot in the tv-show that could possibly guaranty their entire future if played right.

They didn't win, no, instead, they got something better. A contract with Maximillion Pegasus, the epitome of musical industry. It was the start of their career, and Yami never looked back on his past again.

(end of flashback)

Yugi held his smartphone at arm-distance, trying to take in the words he had just read on the tabloid. It was a stupid article that had caught his attention on a facebook-add, but it looked real.

- Yami Sennen collapses on stage in Osaka -

That disastrous date with Yami had only been two weeks ago. To think that so soon after he had given in during the middle of a concert.

As Yugi continued reading the article, it became clear that he had collapsed from an overdose of alcohol and a slight dose of drugs. This was awfully familiar to the last time he had collapsed on stage, but back then he had taken a wrong combination of drugs and together with the alcohol had reacted badly. He had ended up in the hospital back then, Yugi could still remember how it was the topic of the week in school when he was younger.

This made Yugi worried. That last time, the singer had also spiralled down into depression, also due to the help of his abusive relationship with Duke Devlin, but still. What if this was pretty much the same? People who were once depressed are more vulnerable to it in the future as well. He was after all in the hospital again. Their tour would be cancelled for sure. Yugi sure hoped that he was not the cause of his collapse.

Should he go visit him? Osaka was like the other side of Japan! If he had to take a flight , he'd be broke for the rest of the year. But then again... Yugi couldn't really help but feel like he was partially responsible for the situation. Utter bullshit frankly asked, because Yugi's reaction had been fair with that sort of behaviour. Still...

God, this was driving him crazy! Was he really going to waste some of his much-deserved paychecks for an ass like him? Would he still be able to afford studying in America after this? For fuck's sake, life was playing him! Yami didn't deserve his pity anyway!

That's the reason why he was on a plane only two hours later.

Osaka had many grand hospitals with as many specialized doctors and surgeons famous all over the world. Japan was after all known for its great health-care, but Yugi could only badmouth it today. He had gone from hospital to hospital asking about a certain Yami Sennen, or Atem Ghannam as he remembered his real name to be in one of the many documentaries he had watched about the band. He also knew that the singer preferred his new name instead, being as he was disconcerted about his true given name and origin for that matter. But you never know, maybe he was checked in under his given name for safety or other reasons. However, none of the hospitals had checked in the rockstar and Yugi was slowly losing his faith. How big a chance was it that they were going to let him see anyway, or if Yami wanted to see him at all?

The seventh hospital he checked was called University hospital Onaga, a less famous one because it housed many students still in learning to become medical expertises, but perhaps the best cover now that Yugi thought it through. When he asked for a certain Yami Sennen, the older woman at the desk found nothing and shooed him away, but when he asked for Atem Ghannam, the woman had a match. However, the patient they were discussing was not to be seen before approval so they had to make a phone call before the woman could relay him any further. Those short minutes of waiting for a response were the longest in his life.

"Mr. Ghannam is willing to see you. I'm going to need your ID first."

Yugi hid the cheer plastered on his face by the positive news, happy he hadn't come all this way for nothing. He quickly handed over his passport and then hurried to the aisle and took the first available elevator to Yami's floor. Upon arriving, a bodyguard was standing watch outside the hospital room and first had to search him for safety measures, which Yugi found a bit awkward but agreed upon nonetheless. Once that was over, the man let him inside and Yugi walked in the quite spacious hospital room, guessing that they had probably fixed a room that usually occupied several people so that the celebrity would be more comfortable.

It was awfully dark inside, and Yugi had trouble adjusting to it at first. He noticed the bed standing at the right corner in which a person laid he could not identify yet because, but figured it should be Yami. As he walked closer, he realized that said person was looking back at him, but could not tell what kind of expression he wore yet. Actually, it bothered him so much that the first thing Yugi decided to do was open the fucking blindfolds instead of heading to the singer, making a beeline for the window.

"Why are you sitting in the dark like this? I can't see anything."

Once finished drawing the curtain, Yugi turned on his heel to see Yami smiling at him, though it was weak and somber. He had thick, swollen bags underneath his eyes and his skin looked incredibly pale for someone who originated from the heart of Egypt. His appearance was everything but healthy, but Yugi still thought of him as beautiful. Sick perhaps, but naturally beautiful.

"How are you doing?" As Yami didn't respond immediately to his first question, Yugi walked toward him and stood beside his bed, placing his hand above Yami's head to have a better look at him. It worried him that the man hadn't answered yet, and it was visible in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Yami lied, voice awfully hoarse like he had been yelling all night yesterday. "Just a bit – queasy is all."

Yugi was not a psychologist, but even he could tell Yami was an awful liar. He already knew that of course, but it bothered him he was doing it even under these circumstances. "You're a terrible liar," he smiled, adjusting the pillow before taking a seat in the chair next to him. He didn't know why, but being here now, he felt genuinely happy for being able to talk to the real Yami, yet unfortunate that it had to be like this. He had almost forgotten by their last argument how tender Yami truly was when he wasn't influenced by anything. If only, he could be like this forever, his natural self, without resorting to alcohol or drugs all of the time.

"I wasn't expecting you." Yami looked him longingly in the eyes, wishing for an answer to his sudden appearance.

"I wasn't planning on coming," Yugi truthfully replied.

"Then why did you come?"

"I – I don't know." And that was also the truth. The whole two hours on his plane, he kept asking himself the same thing. He felt partially responsible, but also a bit guilty, and perhaps a bit hopeful too, thinking that maybe he could help Yami out of some sorts. "I guess I was worried, and I wanted to make sure you would be fine, you know."

Yugi's cheeks reddened at the soft, warm smile he received once Yami heard his answer. He was too cute when sober and crushing over someone. "Thank you," Yami said and seized for Yugi's hand, entangling their fingers, "really." And Yugi's cheeks blushed further by the intimate contact they shared, even if it was nothing to the time they had shared on that table in the staff room of his dayjob. "It's nothing."

"I don't think you understand how much this means to me," Yami continued. "I haven't... really had the best experience first hand with – guys or girls, but... you're different."

Yugi's lips parted slightly. He knew he was talking about his relationship with Duke, and that broke his heart only further. Was this still an aftermath of the terrible things Duke had done to Yami? His futile attempt of trying to digest everything in the hopes of forgetting about that terrible person? Perhaps Yami was just trapped in a cage that had been created by different people throughout his life and he was drowning in misery that had been created for him.

The last time Yami had ended up in a hospital was because of Duke Devlin. He was the one whom had coaxed him into using and was emotionally abusing him. And the events after his overdose and their break hadn't turned for the better. Yami had retreated from his singing career from over half a year in deep depression and had never really defeated it, but had claimed in his last interview that he loved music too much to give up on it and hoped to overcome his depression to do what he loved most. Maybe he hadn't overcome his depression at all? Maybe Yugi had just been the the final straw to break him completely?

"I'm sorry, it – I never wanted to hurt you, I just –"

"I'm not blaming you!" Yami exclaimed, yelling just to get the point cross rather because he was worried Yugi took it personal while that wasn't the case at all. "Look I – I really liked you. Still do in fact."

Yugi looked up at the revelation, his eyes turning large and shining brightly.

"You're the nicest, funniest, most beautiful person I've ever been around with, and I've never been able to talk to anyone like I could talk to you. But I blew it, and I deserved it. So if you want to go now, that's fine. Just don't stay here if you don't want to because I couldn't handle it if you're just staying because you feel like you owe me. Please."

His words sounded so broken, and they built up tears on both parties' ends. It conceived to Yugi now that Yami was hopeless and had lost faith entirely. Yugi had been the reason for his last demise, added to many things before that, but still enough to make the man fall. He didn't want Yami to feel like this, he deserved happiness just like anyone else, and if only he would let him, Yugi might help him. He would do that for Yami!

"Promise me you'll quit drinking," Yugi stated matter-of-factly, watching as Yami pierced his eyes shut upon hearing his demand. "You can't keep doing this to yourself Yami! It'll kill you, and I won't allow it!"

"I don't care anymore –"

"Stop saying that!"

"I don't care anymore!"

The last part was yelled rather loudly and Yugi went astern from the sudden outburst, watching Yami's trembling form with a ragged breath as he began spilling his tears. "I'm not worth anything! No one cares about me! I don't fucking care about me!"

"But I do."

Stunned, Yami turned his head to look at the person who had spoken those words. No one had ever said that to him, at least not ever since he had left his mother to rot back in Egypt and never once having talked to her since. His father certainly had never cared about him, and Duke, well he just cared enough for him to get laid and that was about the end of it. So why was Yugi different? Even after all the terrible things he had done to him?

"I... I really liked you when you were just – you, you know? When you weren't all drunk and annoying," he joked poorly, not expecting Yami to laugh with it, "You were sweet and caring then. What if – what if we can fight this? What if we can overcome this? I want to get to know the real you, Yami."

Baffled and lip-locked, Yami startled as Yugi reached for his hand again and squeezed it tightly, holding those crimson eyes' gaze to ensure he was telling the truth. "You deserve so much more than this Yami, but you need help. Please, I beg you, go to rehab... I can't watch you slowly destroying yourself."

Yami swallowed what seemed like a big lump in his throat. Go to rehab? His manager had suggested it once as well, and Akefia had been supportive, but Yami had tossed it aside. He would be fine on his own, as he had always been, besides, he didn't want to bother other people with his issues. But what if... Yugi was right? He had tried it before, how long would it take until he'd try again? And what if he never woke up the next time? Did his life really depend on this decision?

"I – I don't know if I can do this."

"Then I will help you."

Yami looked up at those gorgeous amethyst eyes, drowning in them for a good amount of time before returning the gentle nudge with his hand. Yugi smiled relieved, diving in to give Yami a hug and spill some more tears. Yami would be fine, he could only get better from here on out, and Yugi would be by his side, he was certain of it. He'd get clean and continue his dreams as he had always wished for them to come true, and Yugi would help him with that.

Yugi stayed in a nearby hotel after that, only after a lot of arguing and Yami insisting on paying for his flying ticket and stay. Yugi wasn't really happy about it but appreciated it nonetheless. They had exchanged phone numbers afterwards as well, and Yugi promised he would call him first thing tomorrow. There was only one problem.

Yami never picked up.

It was only after three days, while Yugi had tried calling the rockstar over and over again but to no avail, that he was watching the news in his hotel room when suddenly, Yami appeared on screen. Curious, he looked up to see what all the hassle was about, and his eyes widened in shock.

" - has returned and is going to finish his tour in Japan. Fans react positively to the news as the next show, that had been scheduled in Osaka, will be held again tomorrow because of the short outcome before when the singer had collapsed. The band, Black Osiris, promised to give the people of Osaka what they deserve by throwing in a second concert, free of charge for those who bought a ticker for the last show , and –"

Yugi turned off the television. He couldn't hear the excitement in the reporter's voice any longer. Didn't anyone understand how critical the singer's condition really was?! Did they want him to instantly die on stage because they were all too impatient to wait for another concert while Yami was in no condition to do this at all? He had to do something about it, and soon, or he'd never forgive himself.

The concert was scheduled for the next day, so Yugi made quick work of ordering an online ticket. As he arrived at the concert hall, much larger than Domino's, he was a bit stunned by its seize and crowd. It was a good thing he had arrived early too. Fans had been queuing all morning to get the best spots during the concert, some of them had even stayed the night. He felt like a jerk wringing his way through the fangirls who had been so devotedly guarding their spots but they'd understand if they knew what was on the line. Yugi had to see him, he had to talk to him.

When he had squeezed his way through the crowd and had finally arrived somewhere at the front of the stage, the music suddenly started playing and Yugi cursed. He was too late to meet them backstage. He watched as the same opening sequence was performed on stage just like in Domino, with only mild adjustments. He knew Yami would show up the last of the three, but still he was nervous.

Alas, when the man finally did show his face and everyone around Yugi was going absolutely insane, he had to steady himself to survive this concert. These fans were a lot more ambiguous than the ones in Domino, and a lot more assaulting too.

Yugi tried desperately to find a way to grasp Yami's attention, but he honestly had no idea how. He had not anticipated for the show to have started so soon and was now stuck in a sea of horny teenagers. How was he ever going to convince Yami to quit the tour?!

"It's good to be back, Osaka!"

All the girls started screaming when the man addressed them. Yugi heard Yami's apology toward his fans only half while waving like a lunatic, finding no better way of drawing Yami's attention. To top it off the fans around him were arguing that his frantic waving was blocking their view. He was stuck!

"YAMI!" He yelled loudly. Other girls around him did the same. He just sounded like them. This situation was futile. "YAMIII!" He tried again, but to no avail.

But then, in that brief moment, after Yami had given his speech and the music started playing their first song, their eyes met lightly and Yugi noticed how his breath hitched. Their eyes locked and for a moment all they both could hear was the loud beating of their hearts, drifting further away from each other. As if those seconds passed by in slow-motion, Yugi wanted to smile for finally having reached Yami's attention, and just as he was about to take another effort of worming his way completely to the front, Yami's gaze shifted further. He began singing just like the lyrics requested him, utterly ignoring Yugi with the fixed purpose of not going back on his decision. If he would've looked him any longer in the eyes, he might've regretted it.

Yugi's smile faded like snow. He realized what had happened but didn't know how to cope with it. The screeching fangirls' noise returned and he was back in the crowd again, no longer of any importance to the singer.

'He... he ignored me,' Yugi thought. His head wavered down, he felt how his heart sank to his feet in defeat. He had come all this way for the painful stab of rejection.

'I should leave...' Yugi pondered. Looking up to look at the singer one last time, all he saw were lies of pretended happiness and enjoyment on his face, but Yugi knew better. He had lost, and he wouldn't be able to help him anymore.

Bitter, Yugi turned around, biting away upcoming tears, too proud to shed them. As he now wrung his way back to the exit, he didn't notice the lingering crimson eyes lying on him as he walked himself out. Yami hadn't anticipated for it to hurt this much. And then to still keep up his pretenses and act all jolly on stage... He just wanted to jump off a cliff. But even if he would very romantically drop his microphone and run toward Yugi's arms, he would never forgive himself. Yugi deserved better than him, and Yami wouldn't take him down with him.

He'd rather die.