Finally! Some of my yaoi OTP, Yami Yugi/Atem and Yugi Mutou! I'm hoping this story is as sucessful as my Royai Fic, Gunpowder Ablaze, which I will soon get a chapter out. I promise! I just need to get off my lazy ass and write! I'm posting the prologue first for good reason. Anyways! please enjoy! Warning, YAOI, boyxboy, dont read if easily offended by it and swearing.
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~•Prologue•~

The rays of the setting sun glistened on the water, Yugi's eyes drifting down to the puzzle around his neck. Something about it put his mind at ease, calmed by the mere presence of his other self sealed within the cool golden metal. Though the warm Egyptian sands still resonated heat from the day's on slot of the sun's rays, the breeze from the moving boat made chills run throughout his limbs.

It hadn't been long since his other self had relived his past, his memory in full, along with knowing his name that he had been searching for, for nearly 5000 years. Both Yugi and Atem knew that their paths would one day have to part. Atem couldn't stay locked away forever in the puzzle and Yugi couldn't always have a person to fall back upon; he needed to grow and see the world for himself, learning its principles.

Yugi's decision had been made. He was going to duel his yami. Not Joey. Not Tristan. Not Tea. Not Marik. Not Kaiba.

"Yugi..." Yami's soft tone made his young hikari flinch, his hand clenching tight around the puzzle.

"O-Oh! Phar- I-I mean Atem..." Yugi took in a breath of the cooling air, the sun dipping below the horizon casting bright orange and yellow rays upwards into the light cloud layer along with its reflection on the water, the water seemingly on fire. "What is it?"

Atem leaned against the boat's railing, watching the water and enjoying the last sight of his homeland. He shut his eyes for a moment, taking in the soft winds of the River Nile. "I wanted to thank you... I owe you so much but I have no idea how to repay you."

Yugi looked down to the Nile, seeing only his reflection, sadness beginning to fill his heart. "It wasn't much..."

"But it was Aibou... You helped me regain my memory and fulfill my destiny. That to me is a lot." Atem laid a gentle but ghostly hand on his hikari's shoulder, his eyes meeting the innocent, confusion-ridden eyes of Yugi's. "You showed me what it was like to be a normal person. One with friends and a family..." His voice trailed off on the last word, looking down at the nonexistent reflection of himself.

Yugi swallowed the knot in his throat as his eyes traveled to meet the deep purple orbs of the former pharaoh. "Yami..." he mumbled out, his grip on the puzzle tightening. It was like the reality of losing his king had just hit him, his heart lurching in his chest. Yugi knew he had to stay strong, be as his yami had taught him how for so long. "You will always have a family with us. You are part of the family as far as I am concerned. This is your destiny. You can't escape it."

Atem's eyes widened a bit from his light's temperament change, only to realize every word that he said was true. "I suppose I can't..." His hand fell back to his side, the boat's engine slowly coming to a low chug as it approached the dock. Yugi grasped the railing tightly, trying his hardest to hide the whirlwind of emotions flooding his mind. "Let's go... My Aibou..."

The young hikari clenched his eyes shut, the pooling tears being wiped away with his sleeve, and gave a slight nod before letting go of the rail, his knuckles white from the grip. The soft breeze buffeted his black and red locks, his brightly colored yellow bangs covering most of his face. Yugi couldn't help but finding him in an internal conflict, thinking, 'I don't want to lose him... He's the closest thing I have as a friend... Joey, Tristan, and Tea are my friend but... I can't talk to them about anything... I can't trust them like I can Yami... But this is his destiny. I've learned all I can from him. He granted me my wish... But he is the friend I wished for... One that would stand up for me, be there for me, and a caring someone to count on... But who am I to deny him his destiny...?'

• • •

The large ship slowly coasted into the dock, four men hopping onto the dock with ropes, being tied and secured into place, the anchor dropping. With a few small knots, the ship was secured and the doors opened for exit.

Yugi remained on the bow of the boat, watching his friends start off the ship. He bit his bottom lip and took in a deep breath, trying his hardest to calm his frantically beating heart from the fear of being without the puzzle and the spirit that inhabited it. He shook his head and composed himself, looking back to the worried former pharaoh beside him. "Its time to repay you now pharaoh. I am the one that owes you my life. You have gotten me to this point where I couldn't have myself. You deserve to find your resting place and finally be at peace. Let's go." Yugi raised his hand with those determined eyes that put Atem's mind at rest. Yami gripped his hand tightly and nodded firmly, in agreement with his statement.

With in a few steps, Joey, Tristan, and Tea were off the ship and on the dock. Tea let the boys walk ahead, watching yugi carefully, confused and unable to see the hikari's counterpart. Tears pricked her eyes watching Yugi saying his goodbyes to the pharaoh that she'd grown rather fond of. She turned swiftly on her heels and sprinted back to Joey and Tristan, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

Atem narrowed his eyes a bit at the girl below them, knowing all too well what she was feeling. He'd known she'd had a thing for Yugi and himself but that never affected their relationship. Yugi was his aibou and his alone. It somewhat worried him that he'd grown so close to his hikari but he didn't mind the thought of having a friend by him at all times. It comforted him within his prison to know Yugi was there. Yami may have been more independent than his other self but that didn't mean he didn't need someone there for him.

Atem gave Yugi's hand a tight squeeze before shifting back into the puzzle, his nerves finally getting the best of him. 'What will happen to Yugi after I'm gone?', 'Will he be strong enough to be on his own?', 'Will Tea try to win him over?', were only a few of the questions and worries that entered his mind. His stomach was in knots, pressing his forehead to the wall of his soul room. All the doors had disappeared, only two left. One that he could enter and one that he could exit. The four walls only offered enough room to sit against one of the doors or possibly lay down. One torch lit the, now diminutive in comparison to the last, room, its flames casting an orange flickering glow along the alabaster brick walls. "All I can do is wait now... Oh gods I've never been so torn in my life..." Atem furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth as he slid down the smooth wall, sitting against the door that separated his soul from his aibou's. Part of him wanted to finally be at rest and fulfill his destiny but the words he once spoke came rushing to the front of his mind. The night that Yugi finally asked him who and what he was. The night he said that he wanted to stay with Yugi, his hikari and aibou, his light, his other half, forever. His heart was quite literally feeling like it was being ripped apart, as if he was being torn away from the one that he'd become so attached to. "Y-Yugi..."

• • •

Yugi carefully removed the puzzle around his neck, his trembling hands placing it within the stone that would be its final resting place. He carefully placed the other six around the puzzle, fighting back the wave of emotions that welled up within himself. "You've helped me with this puzzle but now I'm ready to give it back." he stepped back as the energy within the items conjoined, its golden rays of light shooting upwards, one pin-pointing his forehead in the all too recognizable Eye of Ra, finally cutting the link between him and his stronger half.

Yami could feel the bond between them weakening as only seconds past. He gripped the handle of his soul room door, opening it frantically only to see Yugi's door shut tight across a river of dark shadows. "Theres no way out of this now..." For the first time since he's lost his aibou to the Seal of Oricalcos, the spirit's eyes brimmed with tears. He was losing Yugi for good, never to see him again. Never to duel with him at his side again. Never to watch over him again as any yami should. Never to see the pride in his eyes when they both won a duel, the one thing that made his heart swell the most. The former pharaoh knew he had to stay strong and fulfill his destiny but something, like a chain holding him down, just would not let his heart move on from the life long friend he'd made. Yugi had taught him so much though he'd never admit it. He taught him how to show mercy and how to be a loving friend.

Atem stepped back as he saw his inner world nearly collapse in on itself. He shut his eyes feeling his spirit being torn away from the puzzle, swallowing his nerves and saying goodbye to the confines to the puzzle, viewing Yugi's soul room for the last time.

Two shadows pulled apart from Yugi, Atem in full body materializing beside him. It'd been so long since Yami had had his own body, it almost felt foreign. A hollow place in his being made him feel even sicker and on edge, the comfort of his hikari now gone. 'Th-This is how it's going to be like for eternity...? Oh gods please do not punish me so...' he prayed silently. Atem looked to his aibou and swallowed hard, his body language 4being hidden after many decades of practice.

Yugi kept his eyes focused on the deck in hand, Yami's stomach clenching at the sight of the deck they'd created and won so many duels with, the one that saved the world from Bakura's wrath. A single step forward from Yugi, towards the opposite side of the tomb, broke the pharaoh's focus. Yami followed suit but to the other side, his heart thudding in his chest. He slid his deck into the duel disk, his hikari doing the same with his own.

Facing off against the one they had lived and befriended was clawing at both Yugi and Yami's heart. All of their will being tested with this one final duel was pushing both of them to their limits both mentally and emotionally. The friendship they'd worked so hard to make being ripped apart by a turn of the cards.

As if on command, in sync and with the same inflection, "It's time to duel!"

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