And as promised, here's the epilogue. So far I've only heard that everyone hated the original SA ending and that you're all very happy about the changes I made. I hope you all enjoyed this story sand that you'll like the epilogue. R&R!

Yuugi stared off into nothingness as his feet took him along the by now familiar roads to the forest he spend at least an hour a day in. He'd gotten back two months ago by now, and as he had promised, he visited the entrance to the spirit world as often as possible. As often as possible was daily for him.

His grandfather thought he just liked to take long walks to clear his mind from all the schoolwork. Yuugi just let him believe that, even though his school wasn't all that hard and he didn't particularly like to walk long distances. Not that it was all that far anyway to the tunnel, it was only about a fifteen minute walk.

As Yuugi finally snapped out of his thoughts, – thoughts of Atemu and the worries he had for the older still not having show up after two months – Yuugi noticed he was already standing in front of the forest trail his grandfather had thought to be a shortcut. Yuugi smiled a little, glad that the trip had become so natural to him by now that he didn't even have to pay attention anymore.

He quickly took the trail and followed it, only half paying attention to all the greenery around him. His thoughts once more drifted off towards their previous worries and Yuugi sighed.

Why hadn't Atemu come back yet? Surely it shouldn't take him this long to deal with Mariku and come back? Maybe something had really happened and the other needed his help. Maybe he was even dead!

Yuugi shook his head. Ideas like those had been plaguing him for a month now but he refused to believe them. Atemu had promised to return to him, and so the older would.

He finally reached the small clearing, the statue still there and seemingly daring anyone to pass through the gateway to the spirit world. Yuugi stared at it for a moment, not wanting to look at the entrance to, once again, see nothing there. He'd seen it too often and each time it made him worry more.

He finally tore his gaze away from the statue and looked at the entrance of the tunnel, expecting to see nothing there but the red building as usual. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar form huddled on the ground just outside the tunnel. The form was shivering and rolled in a tight ball, obviously cold.

'Well,' Yuugi thought as he quickly ran over, 'It is still pretty early, he must've spent the night outside here.'

He let himself fall to his knees as he turned the form around, a bright smile on his face until he noticed the bruises covering the other's skin. "Atemu… what happened?" His question had been nothing more than a whisper, but the older boy immediately stirred. Crimson eyes slowly and blearily opened, trying to take in their surroundings and focus on everything, until they finally rested on Yuugi.

"Yuugi?" Yuugi nodded, still looking over the other's body with worry. Bruises and cuts both marred the tanned skin. Yuugi didn't see any blood, but he was sure it had been there at one point. He was happy everything had been cleaned before anything could really infect.

"What happened to you?" Atemu slowly rose to sit up, being careful not to go too fast and hurt himself. Without giving an answer, he simply pulled Yuugi close to him and kissed the younger. Yuugi was stunned for a second before returning the kiss. They sat like that for a while until Atemu pulled back with a tired, but content look on his face.

Yuugi settled down in the other's lap, knowing that Atemu probably wouldn't let him go right now, "Atemu?"

The older sighed, before looking down seriously, "I guess you've noticed it took a while for me to get here?" At Yuugi's nod, he continued, "Mariku wouldn't let me go, saying I'd been in the spirit world for so long I belonged there now. No matter what I said he wouldn't listen. I tried to escape a couple of times; just ignoring the fact that he was more powerful. The results are still visible."

Atemu winced as Yuugi slowly traced one of the cuts on his body. It had been one of the newest ones and still hurt. Yuugi pulled away as he noticed the wince, more worry flooding his expression. Atemu gave the younger a weak smile before going on with his story.

"Officially I was still under contract, so Mariku had all the right to do with me as he pleased. Seto and Joey had to treat all the cuts and bruises so many times they swore the spirit world would run out of bandages at one point." He chuckled lightly at the memory.

"So how did you escape then? I mean…" Yuugi trailed off, knowing how powerful Mariku was and seeing the results of many escape attempts on the other's skin. If it had failed so many times, why had that one time been different?

"Well, I have Malik to thank for that." At Yuugi's confused expression, Atemu chuckled again and started to explain.

Atemu looked around him for the umpteenth time in 5 minutes to check if Mariku hadn't found him yet. He had a feeling it wouldn't take long anymore before the blonde would find out he was attempting another escape, but he needed to try. He would never stop trying.

At once again seeing nothing around him, the teen let out a sigh before leaving the confines of the bathhouse. It was getting dark outside so the dusk would hide him partly. Sadly, Mariku would wake up soon too. It was the crappy thing about that world. They worked at night and slept at day. The time the darkness could hide him from sight was also the busiest time and people would surely find him no matter how quiet he was.

Atemu hated that world, he really did.

He snuck through the village, keeping a close eye on all the restaurants to make sure no one was there yet. So far no one was up yet, but the darkness was getting thicker and Atemu knew it wouldn't be long now. He just hoped he'd be out of the village at least by the time Mariku found him. Maybe he could make a mad dash to the tunnel? Not that he hadn't tried that yet, but anything was better than just staying still.

He was at the edge of the village when he heard a chuckle. Atemu froze, inwardly cursing that Mariku had found him once again. Slowly the tanned teen turned around to search for the one who had chuckled, expecting to see Mariku grinning at him madly. For a second he thought he really did see his employer, until he noted the tamer hair-style and less crazy features.

"Malik?" The teen grinned as he took in Atemu, raising an eyebrow at all the bruises and half-healed cuts on the other's body.

"Well, I think you've seen better days." Atemu scowled, his rapid heartbeat slowly calming a bit as he realized that Mariku hadn't found him – yet anyway.

"What are you doing here?" The question had come out somewhat harsh and Malik immediately pretended to be hurt. Of course the other was acting the part, knowing Atemu hadn't meant it harshly, but that didn't mean he had to react normally to it. That would be very out of character for him.

"You mean you don't want me here? I feel hurt Atemu, plain hurt!" The blonde took an overdramatic pose and for a second Atemu was sure he'd even seen fake tears. Malik refrained from it though, knowing that would make too much noise. The village had come to life by now and he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to them.

Atemu just rolled his eyes, his posture relaxing a little, "Malik, you do realize you look a lot like your brother and you scared the hell out of me." Malik raised an eyebrow at the statement, glancing at the bathhouse with a frown.

"And why are sneaking around here, trying to obviously stay away from Mariku?" Atemu stared, stunned that Malik didn't know what had been going on. He'd thought Malik would've at least figured out by now he was trying to run away because Mariku wouldn't just let him go.

"Mariku doesn't want me to leave the spirit world, so I'm trying to sneak out." The answer was spoken quite flatly and Malik's eyes immediately narrowed.

"That no good brother of mine won't even let you go?!" Malik gave the bathhouse an annoyed look. As usual his brother was being a prick. Someone should really remove the stick the other was bound to have up his ass.

"You seriously didn't know?" Atemu raised an eyebrow, glancing at the bathhouse for a second to make sure Mariku wasn't coming yet.

"No, I tend to stay away from whatever the hell my brother is trying to do. If I'd known I would've come sooner to help." Malik rolled his eyes before shrugging.

"Anyway, since you've obviously failed to escape," his eyes flicked over Atemu's body again, "you better get going while I hold brother dearest back. Don't worry, by the time Mariku gets passed me – if he even does – you'll be long gone."

Atemu stared for a second longer as a mischievous grin appeared on the other's face. Deciding that he didn't really want to know what Malik was planning and wanting to get out of there as soon as possible anyway, he quickly turned around and started walking away.

"Thanks, Malik." Upon hearing wings flapping and coming towards him, Atemu quickly started running. That sound could only mean Mariku was coming. He didn't dare look back right now; he just kept running towards the tunnel. Looking back would only make sure he'd slow down and slowing down was not an option.

As he reached the river that divided the human and spirit world, he heard crashes and blasts from behind him. Mariku and Malik had started fighting and Atemu had no idea how long Malik could hold. After all, he had never fought Malik, but he knew Mariku was strong enough to pound him into the floor like it was nothing.

He crossed the river, cursing the fact that it was full of water and the current was trying to take him with it. He refused to give in, ignoring the pain of his body as the rushing water hit it and just kept going.

By the time he reached the other side of the river he was panting heavily and completely drenched. His clothes stuck to his body and his hair was drooping down. Atemu fell to the ground to rest for a second, his eyes only half open in exhaustion. He swore he'd never go swimming again unless it was in a pool with no currents.

He heard a loud scream from behind him and snapped back to attention, looking behind him and spotting a golden falcon rushing towards him. Atemu's eyes widened as the teen quickly get up and started to run again. If Mariku was coming after him again, did that mean Malik was hurt now? Well, if Mariku caught up to him he was sure he'd find out.

He reached the tunnel within the minute, panting heavily as he threw himself into it. The tunnel was neutral territory. Mariku would have no power over him here. He panted as he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

He heard an angry roar and looked up with half-lidded eyes as Mariku changed back from his falcon-form to his normal one. Rage burned in crimson-tinted lavender eyes as Mariku glared at him, all-too aware he couldn't do anything now that Atemu was in the tunnel.

Atemu smiled weakly, a smile that was meant to be a cocky smirk but lacked the confidence because of Atemu's state. The smile seemed to anger Mariku all the more.

"You! I swear to every God I'll get you back here one day!" Although Atemu knew Mariku couldn't make that threat come true as he was a spirit and couldn't pass into the human realm, he still shivered at the mere thought. If Mariku ever found a way to come after him, everyone around him would be in danger.

With effort Atemu got to his feet and with all the energy he had left, managed to get the confident look back on his face that was usually there, "You can't follow, Mariku. Deal with it." He turned his back to his former boss as he heard the other rage, yelling threats that could never be realized. He simply kept walking, trying to ignore his body's desire for rest. He needed to get through the tunnel, and then he'd be able to rest all he wanted.

The tunnel seemed endless in his opinion but after seemingly an eternity of walking he finally made it. Darkness had settled in by now and the small opening in the trees didn't let much moonlight come through. Atemu didn't care. He just wanted to sleep and rest. The darkness didn't bother him one bit.

He fell to the ground, his body no longer able to keep him standing. He winced as felt some of the bruises protesting against the hard ground he was lying on, but couldn't be bothered to comply with their wishes for a better bed. Not that he had any choice anyway; it wasn't like a bed would magically appear out of nowhere just because he would be more comfortable.

Sleep didn't take long to take him away. Although his body hurt, his exhaustion was far greater and more demanding.

--: End of Flashback :--

Yuugi stared for a minute as Atemu stopped speaking, processing everything he had heard. Atemu seemed content to just sit there, Yuugi in his arms and Mariku far away from him. After a moment, Yuugi snuggled into Atemu as the older glanced down.

"Yuugi?"

The younger just smiled, "I'm just glad you got away from there." Atemu chuckled and held Yuugi close to him. They stayed like that for a while longer until Yuugi suddenly remembered that his grandfather was still waiting for him. Sure, he took long walks, but if he would stay away for too long the older would probably get worried.

Reluctantly he pulled away, gaining a disapproving groan from Atemu. He laughed a bit as he stood and held his hand out for the other, "Come on, Grandpa will get worried about me if I stay away too long. He thinks I take long walks everyday but I don't think he'll like it much if I stay away too long."

Atemu frowned as he got up, wincing slightly as his body protested but ignoring it as best he could. "What are we going to tell him? He'll probably recognize me from when we were still young…" Atemu trailed off, not sure if he wanted to know what kind of reaction the old man would have. Sugoroku had never minded him, but after so much time…?

Yuugi just smiled, "Don't worry. On my walk I found you in the forest and since you were hurt, I decided to take you home with me so I could let Grandpa look you over. Grandpa will probably recognize you, and since you were never officially declared dead everything will be okay."

Atemu stared at Yuugi as they walked before finally speaking, "You put some thought into this, didn't you?"

Yuugi grinned, "Of course, you didn't think I'd be wasting all my time just worrying over you, did you? I actually managed to put my worrying to some practical use as well."

Atemu chuckled before halting and pulling Yuugi close to him. Yuugi let out a started yelp but was silenced by Atemu's lips on his. He quickly melted into the kiss. Minutes later Atemu drew away and brushed Ýuugi's bangs aside, a smile on his face.

"I missed you." Yuugi just smiled back, resting against Atemu and forgetting about the time for a while. His grandfather could wait. After all, he'd found someone that needed help and he'd need to talk to that person to calm him. Yes, Yuugi was becoming pretty good at thinking up excuses why he was late, and he'd be damned if he didn't put that newfound gift to some good use.