Memento

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the characters, but they seem to have taken up permanent residence in my head.

The box was ancient, the workmanship exquisite, its value incalculable.

At first, he hadn't understood why Yugi had needed to carry it with him, until that incredible moment when two Yugi's stood where there had been only one. Two duelists, two decks, Yugi had needed to keep his deck separate and hidden from the pharaoh.

He couldn't understand why the others had been frozen by the sight of Atem as his own person. Had they not walked with him, fought beside him against Zorc? It was not an experience he would ever forget, though he would certainly never speak of it. Nor would he forget the sound he heard in the moment when Yugi and his "other" were pulled apart, the quick hoarse gasp as Atem drew air into his own lungs, alive again for so brief a time.

There was no useless sentiment between them- he was oddly pleased to note- as they paced off the space needed for their final trial. Yugi knew his duty was to put the pharaoh to rest, if he survived the duel.

He watched as Yugi knelt and placed the box on the ground before him, taking out his deck and moving the box to one side, then sliding the deck into his duel disk as he stood resolute. But the box was not far enough out of the way. It would be pathetic if Yugi were to trip over it and injure himself…

And so, he found himself darting forward, unnoticed by the others, quickly snatching up the box and transferring it to one of the innumerable pockets of his trench coat.

He forgot about it as the duel went on. The gods were summoned, Obelisk, then Osiris, finally Ra, a duel that would truly go down in history. It seems you will not be returning to the underworld. Sooner or later, I'll settle this down with you. But sooner or later became never and history became legend as Yugi vanquished the gods in one turn.

With the death of the gods it seemed as if fear should have died within Yugi as well, but there was still one who could resurrect that fear and that was the one summoned by pharaoh's will. This fear is new to you, Yugi, but it is a fear I've known since that duel atop Pegasus's tower. And again, at Battle City, even with the might of my ultimate beast between us. He saw what is in my soul, saw the forgotten past I would not acknowledge. If there is any weakness, any doubt within your soul, Yugi, he WILL find it and then he will be your undoing…

But there was no doubt, no fear, only determination. The dead must not linger. It was the judgment of fate. The weight of victory was what finally brought Yugi to his knees; the courage to stand and face the consequences of that victory was Atem's final gift to his partner.

There were tears and pleadings, but fate would not be denied. The doors opened and the pharaoh walked to his destiny, back straight, sustained by the brave words of Jonouchi, (Surely the most intelligent words the bonkotsu had ever uttered.) and the promise of immortality in the memories he left with them all.

As if to hurry them along on the road to the future, the ancient ground shook, opening a chasm that snatched the items out of their reach and back into legend. They made it to the open air just in time to see the past vanish beneath the eternal sands…

It was late afternoon on the boat when he remembered the box. Yugi was not in his cabin. He avoided the others as he strolled about on the upper deck, finally spotting the new "King of Games" sitting alone at the back of the boat, leaning his head on the railing, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"No guilt, Yugi". He said as he lowered himself to the deck besides his rival, long legs dangling over the side. "You fulfilled your duty to him. Finish your grieving, then find your own future. You are his legacy, his immortality." He waited while Yugi gathered himself, then turned grief- dulled eyes to face him. Holding out the box, he said quietly, " I believe he'd want you to have this, as a memento."

Yugi grabbed for it like a drowning man reaching for a life preserver. "The puzzle box, I thought it was lost in the earthquake! How did you-?"

"It would have been a sorry end to the duel, Yugi, if you had tripped over it and broken your neck. Lucky for you, I decided to move it out of the way."

"Kaiba- Thank you- I thought I'd have almost nothing to remember him by, just our cards and well, these boots."

Kaiba cast an appraising eye over his rival's foot-wear. "Hmmph, you're right, they don't really suit you. I suppose you'll go back to sneakers?"

"Well, they are more comfortable for running."

"Just make sure your running towards your destiny, not away from it. Remember, you are the 'King of Games' now, but I'm going to challenge you for that title."

The grief was still there within Yugi, but Kaiba was pleased to see him rise to the challenge. "I look forward to it, Kaiba", he said, his voice reflecting his newly realized power, "But you'll have to travel a long road of battle before you get it. It's one more memento of our time together, and I plan to hold on to it for awhile…"

Their friendship still unvoiced, the two rivals sat in companionable silence, watching the sun sink towards the horizon. A soft sigh came from Yugi as a thought occurred to him. "I just-I just wish-"

"Wish what, Yugi?" Kaiba's voice was surprisingly gentle.

"I wish I could have had a picture of him. I've seen photos taken at Battle City and the Grand Prix, but it's always me! I got all the glory, but he was the one that dueled! Except for you and me and Jonouchi and our friends, no one will ever know he was a real person."

Kaiba frowned as a thought occurred to him. His hand brushed over the communicator on his lapel. A sophisticated and compact device that was also a recorder…