Well, I've returned once more to write more Yugi angst!!!

Read and enjoy, if you will!!

Misc Hobbit Cow: Moo.

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The Sealing of a Soul

Yugi rolled over restlessly, finding no comfort in the bed, even as the darkness of two am spilled into the room. The little blonde sighed, pulling the covers tighter around him, utterly exhausted, and utterly unable to fall asleep.

'It's no use.' Yugi thought to himself, careful to keep his mental voice low, so not to wake Yami.

The little blond clutched the golden millennium puzzle gently in his hands, and felt his form drift into his soul room, finally relaxed, resting gently in the puzzle....

Yami's eyes shot opened, and he looked at the clock, the red number reading 2:01. He looked around, the sleep fading fast from his eyes, but saw nothing wrong. With a gentle grace, he slipped from his darkned room to the next, opening the door on his hikari, only to find that Yugi was not there.

//Aibou? Where are you?// Yami sent out the thought worridly, checking under the bed, to see if the small boy had crawled up under there. Yugi had, as of late, been found by Yami curled up and sleeping in odd places.

/I'm.... in the puzzle..../ Yugi replied sleepily, not really bothering to attempt to wake up. Yami sighed, looking at the puzzle resting on his bare chest.

//Why are you in there? You should sleep in your own bed, Aibou, I'm sure it's more comfortable.// Yami sighed, rearranging the blankets, waiting for Yugi to appear. He heard Yugi turn over within his soul room, but the little blonde did not appear.

/I can't sleep out there..../ Yugi yawned, letting his mind drift gently back to sleep. Yami sighed, and headed back to his own room, his slippers scuffing the floor silently.

//Okay, but just this once hikari. I don't want you making a habit out of it.// Yami replied mentally, aware that the little one was already asleep.

'Yugi, what's wrong with you? You've never drifted entirily into the puzzle before...' Yami wondered as he fell asleep, clutching the puzzle to his chest worridly....

Yami woke up slowly the next morning, stretching his arms out, his fingers cramped from clutching the puzzle so tightly. Yami frowned sleepily, holding the golden item up to the sunny light that streamed into the room, highlighting the gentle egyptian curves of the puzzle.

'Why was I holding it so.....' Yami's eyes sprang open suddenly as he realized exactly why he had been so protective of the puzzle in his sleep.

//AIBOU!!!!// Yami shouted, throwing his full voice into the open mental link. He felt Yugi stir within the puzzle, and Yami stood up suddenly, still worried.

/Just five more minutes..../ Yugi muttered sleepily.

//Aibou, it's morning, you must come out! We will be late to school!// Yami shouted mentally, feeling Yugi's sluggish thoughts acknowledge him silently.

/I'm coming, I'm coming.../ Yugi sighed, slowly fading from the puzzle into the real world, curled up in a little ball. Yami sighed, picking him up, the small blonde fitting easily into his arms.

"You shouldn't sleep in the puzzle, hikari, it worries me. It wasn't designed to hold a human spirit for lengthy amounts of time." Yami whispered, carrying Yugi back to his own room.

Yugi sighed, standing up wobbily on the ground, clutching Yami's arm for support.

"But I like it in there. It's so much nicer than out here." Yugi mumbled, stepping over to his closet, and searching out his school uniform. Yami went pale, and mumbled unaudibly under his breath, leaving the young boy to dress on his own...

'He shouldn't even be able to slip completely into the puzzle, never mind actually perfer it!' Yami shouted at himself as he stared at the white board in his history class, trying, and failing, to concentrate on his teachers speech.

'And he's been so tired, and so.... faded. By Ra!' Yami's head snapped up suddenly, his mind redrifting over his last thought. Yugi was fading into the puzzle, replacing Yami in the golden artifact even as Yami was replacing the young blonde in the real world....

"Yugi, hey, Earth to Yugi!" Joey shouted, waving his hands in front of his friends face. Yugi blinked several times, staring at Joey, confused.

"What is it, Joey?" Yugi asked with a yawn, stretching his arms. The classroom was empty, and Yugi looked around confused.

"Yug, it's lunch time! Jeez, and I thought I was a space case!" Joey joked, looking back at his friend as he went out the classroom door. "You comin?"

"Yeah!" Yugi smiled, getting up, feeling very, very weary...

Yami looked around the table, slightly disturbed as he saw Yugi, asleep, his food untouched. No one else seemed to notice, more intent on gossiping about a new gaming tournament. Yami ignored Tia as she tried flirting with him, resting his hand on his hikari's shoulder.

"Yugi, are you all right?" Yami asked, shaking the little one gently. Yugi yawned, looking up at Yami with faded violet eyes, his mind almost dull.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. I'm just a little tired." Yugi smiled sleepily, the lunch bell ringing in the background.

//Aibou, I think you should go home, I'm worried. I....// Yami's thoughts were broken as Yugi ran from the room, his pace lopsided, heading back to class.

/I'm fine Yami, don't worry about it!/ Yugi hollered cheerfully, clutching the puzzle around his neck.

"Is something wrong, oh great Pharoh? You look like something didn't go your way, for once." Bakura smiled smugly, walking with Yami back to their class, a grade higher than Yugi and his friends.

"It's nothing, tomb raider. It's nothing..." Yami whispered, more to himself than anything. He hid the desperate fear of Yugi's fading in the back of his mine, hoping that it was only a bout of the flu...

"Grandpa! We're home!" Yami shouted, watching as Yugi merely slid onto the couch, his eyes fluttering closed. He had barely been able to stay awake during the walk home, and Yami was becoming more and more concerned.

"Yugi, are you sure you're okay? You've been so tired, maybe you should take a few days off, and rest." Yami whispered, lowering him onto the couch, next to his lighter half. Yugi shook his head weakly, running his hands lightly over the golden artifact on his neck.

"I'm fine Yami, I just need to rest. I just need to rest, in the puzzle...." Yugi sighed, and Yami slapped him, hard. Yugi's violet eyes went wide, tears creeping up at the edges as he stared at his other half, in fear.

"No! You will not go into the puzzle! Yugi, it's not good for you, you can't rest in the puzzle, can't you see how it's affecting you, fading you!?" Yami pleaded, his voice cracking as he choked back sobbs.

"Yami, it's okay.... I just need to rest for a while, and then I'll be fine, you'll see, I'll be fine..." Yugi smiled, higging his darker half weakly.

Yami shook his head, clutching Yugi in his arms, tears running down his face as he realized what he must do. He had sworn to protect his aibou, and protect him he would, even if it meant sacrificing his spirit, and breaking the puzzle. He higged Yugi warmly, and clutched the puzzle in his powerful grip, preparing to crush the artifact.

"I'm sorry Yugi, but this be done, for your own sake...." Yami smiled, his grip on the puzzle tightening.

"Just let me rest a little, just a little, please Yami..." Yugi sighed, and Yami's eyes went wide as he felt Yugi fade into the puzzle, even as his own grip shattered, breaking the golden artifact back into its nearly unsolvable form.

"Yugi? YUGI!!!!!" Yami shrieked, fingering the pieces, trying to piece them back together, even as the tears blurred his vision.

His aibou was now sealed within the puzzle, until someone could solve it once more.....

So, what did you think?

Sorry that it's so bad, I just typed the idea out spur of the moment!!

R&R for more, if you would!!!