Author's Note:

Alright, this one's been sitting on my hard drive for quite some time. Computer tells me it was sometime mid 2014 when it was first written, and as such, it probably won't reflect my current skill, but hopefully it's a decent contribution to the fandom anyways!

I'd like to point out that I wasn't the one to come up with the idea of Yugi teaching dueling classes when he's older. I'm not sure who the original creator of that idea is, but I'd like to credit them for that little detail in this story.

Oh, and this one IS multiple chapters.

I've been unsure about posting it for two years, so I hope you all enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

It had been a long time since everything Yugi knew and held dear fell apart.

He had made it through, of course. He was sad, but he carried on. He constantly had to push away the empty feeling he had. Losing half of your soul wasn't pleasant, but he knew he would make it through. He would see him again, after all. It would just take time.

He had no idea how true that was.

He was numb after they left Egypt. The silence in his head was too much to handle. After repeatedly subconsciously mentally reaching to feel the spirit's presence, and physically reaching to touch the Puzzle and realizing that neither were there, he finally gave in and cried. He managed to hold it back until then, but it hit him all at once just how alone he was, and that was the beginning of many tears.

The whole group gasped, but weren't too surprised, upon hearing his first heartbroken sob. Anzu immediately pulled him into a gentle hug, and spoke comforting words into his ear. Yugi appreciated their support more than he knew they would ever realize.

He didn't go to college after high school. He didn't need to. He was set for life. People would pay quite a lot of money to duel the world champion, and in the first year after he returned alone, he made enough money to live on for quite some time.

It was hard to get back into dueling, but he did.

Once, just a few weeks after he officially came out of his temporary retirement, the absence of his partner hit him harder than he expected, and he questioned if he had gotten back into it too soon.

It was a simple match, really. It shouldn't have upset him at all. It was against someone he could easily beat, but who was still managing to put up a challenge.

It wasn't until he drew a hand that managed to exactly mimic one in the past, that it hit him. He swore he could almost hear the spirit's voice in his head, telling him he could do it, and advising him on which strategy to go with against this opponent.

It had the opposite effect.

He surrendered, to the horror of the audience, and quickly found a place to be by himself. Perhaps, on second thought, the bathroom wasn't such a good place to mourn. Every time he looked in the mirror, it was a reminder. He could always imagine Yami's face there, just staring back at him, a silent reminder of what he had lost.

He still had a bad habit of talking to himself, even though it really WAS just to himself this time.

His fame continued to skyrocket, as he was still undefeated, and it stayed that way for a few years.

Just after high school ended, Yugi asked Jou to move in with him. The game shop was too big to live in alone, and living alone was harder when one has had even their mind and their SOUL occupied by another being before.

After a few years, when Yugi was more open to talking about it, Jou would ask questions about what it was like, and Yugi would answer them. Things like, "Could you hear everything he thought?"

And usually the answer was long and detailed.

Often, Jou would be surprised, having no idea about what it was really like when Yugi still had the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.

After high school, Anzu got her wish and went to study dance in New York. Yugi missed her, but he wasn't sure they'd be together romantically even if she was still there. Honestly, he was pretty happy with just a roommate.

He ran the game shop, and taught kids how to duel for fun. He still dueled for competitions until he was 30, when he took an extended break from it.

Joey, eventually started dating Mai, and he moved out shortly before their wedding.

Yugi was happy for him, and he even went to the wedding, and congratulated them, but he found that he couldn't live alone.

He got a cat the next day. He named her Isis, "after an old friend" he'd tell anyone who asked, but he found it didn't eliminate his loneliness. It helped, but he still felt alone.

In his 30's Yugi wasn't all that different from when he was a high schooler. He was still recognizable, even though he might have had a couple of early gray hairs.

He was a little taller than he had been when he was 16, almost a normal height. Almost.

He still kept in contact with Kaiba every now and then, and then even played a friendly game of Duel Monsters, even though it always ended up being intense, and much less than "friendly".

Kaiba offered him a job several times, and although he seriously considered it after Jou moved out, something told him it wasn't right. He had enough money, so why take a job, when someone less fortunate could have the slot?

A few weeks after Jou moved out, he realized he couldn't live alone anymore. Not even with his cat as a companion.

It was Jou who suggested adopting.

"Come on, 'Yug. You're lonely. Havin' a kid around wouldn't be so bad."

"Jou, I'm a single middle aged, man. I couldn't take care of a kid by myself..."

"Why not? It wouldn't have to be a baby. There are tons of teens who need homes too."

"I dunno, Jou..."

"I'm just sayin' you should look into it, that's all. Who knows! You could even get a kid from Egypt-"

"Katsuya."

Rarely did anyone call him that. It was Yugi's way of silencing him, of letting him know he was serious about not going any further.

"That part of my life is over." He said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, 'Yug... I didn't mean-"

"It's ok... You really think I could adopt? I mean... I'm not great with kids..."

"Sure 'ya are! I mean, you teach 'em every day, don't you?"

It was true. Yugi had taught hundreds of kids to duel. He liked kids. He could always relate to them on a personal level, never understanding people who grew up to be cold hard adults, like Kaiba.

"I guess so..."

"Just look around, kay? You've got plenty of room, and I know you've got 'da cash."

"Alright, alright..."

At first he wasn't going to. Surely he could live by himself. He was 30 years old now. And although he remembered the day he lost his other half like it was yesterday, it had still been a long time, and he should still have been over it by then... right?

"I still wish you were here..."

He said to the empty room.

That's when he realized that looking for a child to adopt was going to be a far better option than continuing to talk to himself all the time.

The next day, he started his search.

He looked through thousands of teenagers looking for homes, but none of them really struck him as the right one. He wasn't sure how, but he knew that he'd know when he came across the kid who would live with him.

Somehow, word got out that Yugi Mutou was going to adopt.

His card game fame came back tenfold, as every newspaper and magazine in Japan had his face on it, and articles inside questioning whether or not he was ready for children, wondering why he never had any, and where he would adopt one from. They all questioned his motivation.

What really broke his heart, is that his dueling classes suddenly doubled in size, and what he came to realize was that half of the kids there were orphans. They had heard, and they were hoping to get on his good side, and find a home with him.

His dueling classes were basically his day job, even though he taught the kids for free.

Duel Monsters was something he would always have a passion for, and sharing that passion was something he was happy to do.

There were a couple of kids he was close to, who always attended his classes, but now that the classes had gotten so much bigger, it was harder to keep track of them all.

He liked Kurosaki, the 8 year old with a burning passion for machine types.

He was close with Akira, the 13 year old, who happened to love the Dark Magician.

But some of his newer students were smart and talented kids, as well, even if half of them joined just so they could have the chance of being adopted. Yugi honestly wasn't considering adopting any of them. He just didn't feel like it was right.

One boy in particular really caught his attention, though.

Tobias, from America.

He spoke pretty fluent Japanese, even though he looked American, or at least foreign. He was immensely interested in the game, and he was a bit better at it than most of Yugi's students.

He was 15, with scruffy dark brown hair, and he was always one step ahead. He seemed very bright, and he was at the top of Yugi's makeshift dueling class. Sometimes the kids would stay and help clean the shop, or put new merchandise on the shelves, after class.

Yugi got to know a lot of them quite well.

Koharu's mom was nearly always late, but he didn't mind. He liked having the kids in the shop, even if it was sometimes hard to keep up with them all. It was less lonely that way.

Some of the older kids actually got around to talking to him about things other than card games, after classes.

"Ne, Yugi-Sensei! Have you seen the new communicator watches?! Kaiba-corp even makes one!"

"Wow! I'm pretty behind the times, aren't I, still using a cell phone."

"Nah, sensei, you're cool!"

"Thanks guys." Yugi would say, with a fond smile.

Tobias was always one of the students who stayed late. He had kind eyes, wise for a kid his age, and deep green, a beautiful color, much different than a lot of the Japanese kids who showed up.

After a while, a small group started staying later and later, until eventually, he was feeding them lunch, too, in the summers.

Tobias, and Mashiro, and a girl named Akihiko.

He had taken to calling Tobias "Tobi", and nicknamed the other two "Hiro" and "Aki".

The other two complained a little at the nicknames, to which Yugi would reply,

"I'm getting old, guys, I can't remember long names and stuff anymore." with a small laugh.

The summer was halfway over, when things started happening.

"Yuugi Sensei?", Tobi asked one day after lunch.

"Hm?"

"Would... it be alright if I stayed a little later?"

"Of course, Tobi. Come to think of it, I've never asked about your parents. Who picks you up during the day?"

Yugi and Tobi were fairly close, in a teacher-student sort of relationship.

He stayed after class almost every time there was one, and he and Yugi had gotten to know each other fairly well during the summer.

"I...I'm scared you'll kick me out of class if I tell you."

"Of course I won't kick you out of class! You're my best student, after all!" Yugi said lightheartedly.

"I... I don't have parents." He finally said, with a little trouble.

"Oh... I see. It's alright Tobi, you're always welcome in my class. You don't have parents?"

"No... I haven't for a while now...there's... a homeless shelter downtown...I walk here for classes."

Yugi's eyes went wide with shock.

"You... walk here?"

He nodded.

"Every time there's a class?"

"I... don't want to miss any... I didn't come here for the same reason as all the other kids. I gave up on getting adopted, Yuugi-Sensei. I just like learning about Duel Monsters."

"Tobi..."

Yugi was shocked. Utterly shocked. He wouldn't have admit it, but Tobi was his favorite student. He actually put up a good fight when they last dueled, and Yugi was always happy to teach him anything he knew. He hadn't been considering adopting any of the kids in his class, but... He assumed Tobi had a happy home life. He assumed his loving mother came to pick him up after every class. He assumed he had siblings to duel with, and fight with.

"Yuugi-Sensei?"

They were sitting in Yugi's dining room, snacking on whatever he had around.

"Mhm?"

"What do you do when all the students leave?"

He hadn't expected that question...

"Well, I... When you all leave, it's just Isis and I." He said, petting said cat, who was in his lap.

"Oh... are you ever lonely?"

"I... Yes. That's why I got Isis in the first place." The cat meowed as if in response.

"I'm sorry, Sensei... being lonely is no fun."

"Tobi?"

"Yes, Sensei?"

Tobias was always polite, even for a Japanese person, and he was American. Always polite, and well spoken.

"Where will you go after you leave here?"

"I'll go back to the shelter like I always do..."

If Yugi made this decision now, there might not be any going back. But if he didn't, he might not get the chance again.

"Tobias..."

"Y-Yes Sensei?"

He was a little shaken at being called by his full first name by Yugi, as opposed to his nickname. Yugi always used his nickname.

"How would you like to stay here with me? You don't have to, of course. I'll keep you in my class either way. But... if you wanted a little more... stable roof over your head... my door is always open."

"S-Sensei... you'd really...?"

"I'd adopt you, Tobi. The rumors were true. I'm lonely, so I was looking for someone to adopt. Someone who could take care of themselves, but still keep me company..."

"Sensei...I could... I could really live here with you?"

Yugi and Tobi had created quite the bond, over the summer. Yugi enjoyed having him around, and Tobi seemed to enjoy Yugi, as well.

"You could really live here. I'd like the company, Tobi..."

Yugi could see the tears in his eyes, as he tried to keep his composure.

"Y-Yuugi Sensei... Could I... could I come back today? I could get my backpack from the shelter and come back... is that ok?"

"Of course... Who... who owns you, Tobi? The city? Who has legal rights?"

"I think... there's an orphanage in a city just south of here. I think they still have legal custody. You... You'd really adopt me, Sensei? I... I wasn't lying about having given up..."

"I'd love you to live with me, Tobi. I've been lonely since my roommate moved out. Of course, you'll have to ignore my bad habit of talking to myself." Yugi said, with a smile.

Without warning, Tobi threw Yugi into a hug.

Yugi didn't realize he was crying, until the boy spoke.

"Th-thank you... thank you..."