Ah, dammit. Well, I was editing more "Mou Hitori," but then a stray thought got tangled up with cosplay plans and this plotbunny was born. I thought about just leaving it there for someone else to grab, but no one's bothered to with any of the other ideas I've left out before, and I really want to read this one. Ah, well. I suppose I'll just have to entertain myself.

Also, to answer your questions preemptively, "Itnása" means "be forgotten" in Egyptian Arabic.

Now, without further ado…

Disclaimer:

Yu-Gi-Oh copyright Kazuki Takahashi.

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/Full Metal Alchemist copyright Hiromu Arakawa.

Itnása

Prologue: Those Who are Left Behind

Yuugi worried his lip, clutching desperately at the fabric over his heart. His other self was leaving him, called back into the past as he looked on helplessly. It felt like his soul was on fire, crying out in anguish as he watched his darkness melt away in the blinding light of the tablet's doorway. He couldn't leave. Not like this... Not without any chance of him coming back. After all they'd been through, there was no way he'd consent to being separated.

As the gateway slowly began to seal itself, he clenched his fists and set a pair of fiercely determined eyes on his goal. Wresting himself from the comforting arms of his friends, he charged forward, right arm stretched toward the small sliver of light. He was nearly there, just a few more feet and he could slip through. Crouching slightly, he prepared to leap through, but found himself thrown bodily to the ground as something slammed into him.

Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head from the worn stone and clawed at the toned arms wrapped around his waist.

"No! Let me go! The door is almost- "

His heart leapt to his throat as the light dissipated, leaving nothing but the carved surface of the ancient tablet. He was gone.

"No… NO!!" he cried, struggling against his captor.

He lashed out, ignoring the tingling pain in his elbow as he felt the arms loosen. He scrambled out of reach, crawling the last few feet to the tablet, ignoring the commotion behind him. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he beat his fists against the weathered surface, willing the portal to reappear.

"Take me with you!" he screamed, fighting off a hand that gripped his shoulder. "Don't leave me behind! Atemu!"

There was an ominous rumble, and sand spilled in through the cracks of the ceiling as the whole chamber began to shake.

"Yuugi!"

"Yuugi, come on! We have to go!"

Two pairs of arms grasped his, roughly jerking him away from the platform. He strained against them, eyes trained on the crude hieroglyphs carved into the stone.

"No!" He rasped, throat raw and choked by tears. "Let me go! Atemu!"

They dragged him from the chamber, dust and debris raining down on them as the ceiling collapsed. He tried to break free, but as the walls caved in behind them, all strength left his fragile body. Numb, he allowed them to pull him up the stairs and out into the desert twilight. He fell to his knees, cool sand filling in the gaps between his limp fingertips.

As the entrance to the Wdjat temple crumbled before his eyes, he felt his heart break.

"MOU HITORI NO BOKU!!!"