Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. :p

()()()()()

I hesitated, not knowing what to do, how to do this. I know I have to, but every fiber of my being is screaming at me to turn around and run the other way. Oh God no... I don't want to do this...

It's been six months since the Ring and Puzzle vanished. Six months that I've been living without the other half of my soul. Six long, awful, God-forsaken months. But it's been two and a half years for Yugi. I owe him this much, even if I can barely bring myself to do it.

When the Puzzle shattered... It didn't just break apart into its seperate peices. It shattered. And now I have to tell Yugi-tachi that there's no way he'll ever see his Yami again.

Oh God, oh God, I cannot do this...

I spin in an about face and am on the edge of walking away from the Turtle Game Shop, when I hear an annoying little bell behind me that announces to the world in general that the Door Has Opened. Whoo-hoo. Why is it that every shop in the world has the same sort of bells on the door? They're all as annoying as hell, and yet the shopkeepers seem to like them...

"Who's there? Don't you want to come in from the cold?"

I turn around again and stare at the short, squat figure in the doorway, almost not believing. It's been so long since I've seen Mr Moto... He's almost like something from another life.

I realize with a bit of chagrin that he probably doesn't recognise me. After regaining complete control of my body a half-year ago, my hair had been so tangled and matted (neither of the spirits in me caring much for personal hygiene) that I'd just givin up and shorn it all off. Rather like a sheep. Ha ha. It has grown out a bit since then, but is no where near as long as it had been. At the moment I'm wrapped in several layers of clothes that I managed to get from various charities, with a huge overcoat that I expect used to belong to Seto Kaiba over top.

"What?" I ask him, smirking a little. "You'd let a bum like me into your nice clean shop, Mr Moto?"

Ah yes, these last few months have not been pleasent (nor have the last couple years, but you know that story). I stowed away on a plane just to get from England back to Japan (spent some time in prison after getting caught for that, too. Guess I don't have as many stealth skills as my original yami would like to think he beat into me). I've been living off the streets, holding down what few jobs I can, getting what food there is for guys like me, ever since. All in all, not a pretty way to live.

Not that I really care anymore. No, having one's soul ripped in half, your yami torn from you, can sortof tarnish your look on life. Hey, don't look at me like that! He may have beat me, abused me, ignored me, but he was still my other half. Losing him... Well, there's really no good way to describe it, except as being "ripped in half". That's what it felt like. And now I stumble around, acting like I'm half-drunk. None of my sences seem to work right, without him here. It's like when he was torn from me, half of me went with him. And really, that's what happened. He was a seperate person, but he was still me.

Mr Moto looks surprised. "Do I... know you?"

"No," I say, shaking my head a little. "But I used to be a good friend of your grandson's. Is Yugi around?"

Mr Moto seems to consider this question, and eyeballs me openly. Not that I blame him. I'm scruffy-looking anyway, and it's been forever since I've had a decent, or even half-decent, wash and/or shave. He reluctantly steps back to let me inside, and I come in gratefully, stamping the early-March, half-melted snow from off my two-sizes-too-big boots. He goes upstairs to find Yugi, and I glance around the shop.

Good grief, nothing's changed at all. There's even still a poster of Yugi (actually, Yami) from back when he won Duelist Kingdom. I strip off my coat and gloves, laying them neatly over the counter. I finger my dueling deck, which I've managed to keep with me, even through all of this, and wonder if I should pawn some of the cards. A few of them, my Change of Heart in particular, could probably get me enough cash to eat for the next few days.

Before I can make a decision one way or another, I hear footsteps. Mr Moto comes back into the shop, followed by Yugi-tachi, Joey, and Tea. No telling where Tristan is, not that I really care. He always was an idiot. My yami (that is, Bakura) ranked him somewhere between slaves and the pharoah (that is, Yami).

At first, they don't recognise me either, giving me a chance to study them. Bloody hell, when did Yugi get so big? He easily tops Tea in height, and is nearly as tall as Joey. He sure towers over me... But there's something about his eyes. They seem so empty, so haunted. These are the eyes of someone who knows part of him is gone. Like me. His eyes are like mine.

Maybe that's what clues him into who I am, seeing my eyes as hollow as his own. Or maybe something else. You can't exactly mistake my hair for anyone elses, even if the scraggly beard I've got makes me look more old then albino (even though I'm not albino). But whatever the means, I can see the understanding dawn in his eyes, and his expression turns almost hungry. Yerning. Yerning for something that I, regrettably, cannot give him. He opens his mouth to say something, and I decide to speak first.

"Yugi..."

Joey and Tea start at the sound of my voice, apparently realizing just who I am. But I ignore them and keep talking, reaching into the big inside pocket of my coat for what I'd come to give him. To my surprise, I feel a tear slide down my face. "Yugi, I'm sorry... It's all my fault..." I pull out the few golden shards, all that's left of the Millenium Puzzle. I hand them to him, and he stares at them for a moment, as if not realising what they really are.

Then tears well up in his eyes too, and he clenches his fists around the gold, not caring if the sharp edges bite into his palms. He glares at me, and I see fire in his gaze. I take a step back, fearful.

"What did you do?"

His voice is low, and cold, and in it I can hear all the pain I have and all of his pain, folded together and doubled. I want to run, want to turn and run forever, outrun Yugi, outrun the memories, outrun the pain... But I can't. Yugi's steel-cold gaze holds me in place, demanding an answer from me. When I finally find my voice, it's barely a whisper.

"I wished they would disappear."

For a moment, Yugi stops. He caught the 'we'. He knows Bakura's gone to, and must guess that I am in just as much pain as him. But we are all human, and his anger, sadness, and pain mounts up and takes control, not unlike a yami itself.

"How could you?"

The words are whispered, and I really more of feel them then hear. And then he launches himself at me, and before I can stop him I'm on my back on the Game Shop floor, little Yugi (who isn't so little) kneeling on my stomach and forcing the air out of me. He slugs me across the cheek, and the shards of the Puzzle, which work like brass knuckles whether he intends them to or not, slice deep into the skin. I can taste blood in my mouth and wonder fleetingly if Yugi's going to kill me.

For a moment Bakura's face hovers over Yugi's shoulder, and he's laughing at me.

Mocking me, as he always has.

Joey and Mr Moto grab ahold of Yugi's arms, hauling him off me. He screams and kicks, tears flowing down his face. I lay there for a moment, and Tea's horror-filled eyes meet mine.

And then I'm on my feet, and I run.

I'm leaving my coat and gloves behind, something I'll probably regret later, but I can always steal another one. I dodge into a dark back alley and hide myself behind a pile of ancient boxes, wondering if Yugi will come after me.

I can still hear Yugi's screams echoing in my ears, overlaid with Bakura's laughter.

Please...

Please just make them go away...

The shadows are laughing at me again.

()()()()()

WSJ: ^^v At least one more chapter to go, probably more beyond that. And I think I'd better switch the catagory to angst/tragety, don't you? *smiles sweetly* Oh, for those wondering, I have major writer's block on the next chapter of YoTU:F. *sweatdrop* I'll try and get it out soon! I promise!!

God bless minna-san!