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He woke up under leaves for the first time in countless ages, in a body that he had long since forgotten. He had begged, fought against the law of cycles, the laws of life. He was considered a hero among the dead, the dead granted him unthinkable privileges.
He would see him again.
The surrounding buildings that he had grown so accustomed to with him told the boy that he was in Domino.
This was, of course, after he had managed to find a discarded tarp in the Autumn clearing to cover his naked body. The body that was granted holy privileges, preserved by forces that had the same potential understanding as the multitude of colors that human eyes cannot see, but the animals can.
He was happy for this. But this was not why he was here. He was here for him. The boy, his partner.
The edges of broken synthetic threads scratched at his shoulder blades as he walked through the city, taking all of the back routes in hopes to not draw attention. He knew where to go.
He spent the morning following maps, walking among train tracks. A boy, most likely sixteen or so, had actually called him out for his unusual appearance. He heard him scream something noisily up at his mother, something about Mutou, something about ‘too many children,’ but he never approached him. The mention of his name made his heart start, and he wanted to ask the boy why he knew him. A classmate maybe? Although, the boy only looked as old as he was when he had finally solved the puzzle. He was 19 when they had separated. Maybe it was a family friend. He didn’t know. He was full of adrenaline, and reborn excitement. So he kept on walking.
Streets and buildings started to close in, screaming at him with all of their familiarities. He was almost there. He was walking through an alleyway that was parallel with the street that he used to walk to school on. He realized that his partner would be starting college soon, he hoped he still lived with Solomon. Either way, he would find a way. He was the reason for his holy privileges.
The high school students were all flying past on the parallel street. He heard loud chatter. Was he still not graduated? He couldn’t remember. He remembered how much the boy loved the school uniform he was given. They both loved it.
He snapped out of his nostalgia when he saw tricolored hair fly past, the school jacket flying past in slow motion, it glided like a cape on the boy’s shoulders.
Him. It was him. His heart raced, thumped in his chest so uncomfortably he was worried that his body would give from under him. He quickened his pace, his bare feet uncaring of sharp hazards on the ground, this was too urgent. His life was born again for this moment. He ran along the corridors the buildings created, matching in pace to the boy on the parallel street. Concrete walls appeared and vanished into hallways in a slow tempo, and the boy appeared and vanished every time.
They were close. His feet stopped when the alleyway did, and he saw the mess of purple hair and the blue jacket stop at the door of the game shop. The boy drew the jacket from his shoulders and wrapped it into his arms. The boy opened the door and vanished inside.
Partner.
He sprinted across the street once enough people had disappeared from sight, and stood at the wooden door, the one he had stood at with him so many times. He was shaking.
Gods, he was so happy.
He knocked on the door.
He wasn’t sure if he should just walk into the shop, or-
And then the door opened.
The bell above the door played its song.
And a man stood there. He looked to be in his 40’s, young enough to still maintain a bright appearance, but old enough to have the discoloration in skin that is unavoidable with the slow motions of death that the later years of life brought. He had hair that was a dark enough shade of purple to be mistaken for black, and his bangs were short and brushed to the side, ash blond. They created a striking contrast of colors.
He smiled at him with sincerity that scrunched the age lines together around his eyes.
“Good morning, how can I-“
The man’s sentence had stopped when he looked down at the boy in the tarp.
He gasped as if he had just been haunted. The man’s eyes were wide, his hand shot up to his chest.
“Oh my God,” the man whispered. He wasn’t sure if he had actually spoken at all, or just mouthed the words.
The boy looked up at him, understanding the older man’s confusion. He must have been his relative, a relative out of town that had not heard the stories of the puzzle, of the two boys that looked identical, yet so different, in so many ways.
The boy smiled, trying to suppress his adrenaline that caught his breath and tangled it before it could leave his mouth.
“Hello, I am looking for Yuugi? Our, uh, resemblance to each other is a long story, I know it probably must be shocking to see. I didn’t mean to startle you.” A small bow. “I also apologize for my… disgraceful appearance.” The tarp scraped against the floor.
The man didn’t move. He kept on staring at him.
He heard footsteps behind the man. He saw a woman approaching, black hair was tied up into a messy bun. She appeared to also be middle aged, but her clothes looked soft and her entire aura shouted inviting, she seemed to be the kind of person that could comfort anyone regardless of the situation.
“Yuugi, who’s at the door? Are you ok?”
Yuugi?
Yuugi?
Yuugi?
The man’s hand moved from his chest to his mouth, he could hear the whistling of breathing through the man’s nose, labored breathing.
The entire world stopped. Everything. The boy heard nothing. Only the ringing in his ears. His eyes unfocused at the man. He saw it now.
He saw everything.
The way his eyes were so round and inviting, regardless of age.
That shade of purple that was entirely the same, only now it was surrounded by tiny veins and seemed to have a slightly different glaze over them.
The boy couldn’t speak.
His throat had broken.
He could only manage to say one thing after a rough swallow that felt like daggers.
“What year is it?”
The man spoke through his shaking fingers.
“2026.”
He bit his lip. Hard. He almost wished that the heavy beating of his heart would destroy him, kill him, and erase his holy privileges.
The woman was standing next Yuugi now, a hand on his shoulder.
She was looking down at him, her brow scrunched in confusion, she almost looked afraid. But her face still looked kind.
“Excuse me, uh, young sir, what is your name?”
His eyes hadn’t blinked. They hurt.
“Atem.”
And then the older man started crying. A shaky hand rested on the boy’s shoulders. The other one was still at his mouth, thick nails nearly broke skin on his stubbled face.
“Is… H-how…”
Another set of feet came crashing through the thick silence.
The boy who ran with his jacket like a cape. His bangs were light brown, the rest of his hair was almost entirely jet black except for the very tips which shined magenta in the light.
“Mom, dad, I was wondering if I could go out with…”
He stopped at the door. Suddenly everything was so crowded. Suffocating.
“Hey, is everything…”
The woman turned to the young adult. She smiled. It was so kind.
“Yes, Yami, you may go.”
The boy looked worried. Blue irises flickered between his mother and his father.
He turned to Yuugi.
“Dad, are you okay?” Yuugi’s head nodded slowly, but his hands didn’t move.
His eyes met Atem’s. “Who’s that? He looks kinda like me. And you.” His eyes shined with excitement. “Do I have a cousin you haven’t told me about? I’ve never seen anybody else have hair that’s naturally as nuts as yours, dad.”
Atem could tell that the boy was trying to lighten the thick air that surrounded everyone, and he also knew that the boy wanted to understand.
“Y… Yami,” Yuugi’s jaw clenched after the words left him, and his stare bore into Atem.
It was like he wasn’t sure who the name was directed towards.
There was the boy in the tarp,
And there was his son.
His sixteen year old son.
Larger calloused hands left Atem’s shoulder, and Yuugi turned to face the other boy. His eyes glistened. He was trying not to cry, trying to maintain sanity and not break entirely.
He smiled at him.
“Go have fun with your friends.”
“But dad, what about-“
Yami pointed at the boy in the doorway.
The man smiled again. God, it was so hard
“I know this all seems confusing. We can talk about it later tonight, okay?”
Blue eyes shined with worry. He stared at Atem’s eyes, then his hair, his skin, everything.
“But dad, he, he looks like your friend from your stories you used to tell me growing up!”
His feet shuffled. “And, a-and, you look so upset, is he a ghost or something? Atem, the friend from your stories, he was the spirit of a pharaoh in Egypt, right? Not that I believe in ghosts, but… But you did! And you saw him, right?”
Yuugi smiled harder, letting out a shaky sigh. His palms rested on Yami’s shoulders, so gentle and sincere it was almost terrifying.
“I know, I know this is strange. It’s all just coincidence, okay? We will figure this all out later, okay?”
The mother gave the boy a look. A small grin. Sad eyes. Without words, the look said that it would be best for him to go.
“Okay.”
He hugged his father.
His father hugged him back. A chest heaving sigh.
“I love you, dad.”
“I love you too.”
The younger boy grabbed his jacket; he let it sit at his shoulders. He nodded at his mom, and stared wildly at Atem as he passed by, and out of the shop.
Yuugi looked at him.
They looked at eachother. Minutes passed.
The mother left them alone, she knew it was for the best.
Eventually, Yuugi ushered him in from the doorway.
“Come inside.”
Atem nodded. He was relieved to find that his legs would still carry him without giving out, dropping him to the ground.
He couldn’t believe this.
He couldn’t.
This wasn’t Yuugi.
This wasn’t his partner.
Aibou.
Atem broke the silence.
“So…” His voice was strained, fighting against the choking sobs he wished he could make.
“That was… That’s your wife, isn’t it?”
Yuugi looked away. Smiled sadly.
“Yeah, we’ve been married for eighteen years.”
Atem wanted to affirm that he heard what Yuugi said, but his mouth didn’t make noises. He just listened.
Yuugi’s turn.
“How did you… How are you here?”
It had been so long
“I had… I was tired of being alone. I was given a second chance.”
The spirit who had lived for thousands of years, looked up at the younger spirit, stared at all of his signs of getting older. He had an age spot on his cheek. Creases near his mouth. But he still was him
He still was Yuugi.
He saw Yuugi’s lip tremble, he saw his jaw move as he tried to form the right things to say.
“I… I don’t, I don’t know what to do. I learned to live without you… Gods, my son even… He looks like you… Same age…” He used the back of his hand to rub at his nose, he wouldn’t cry
He cried anyways. His face was distorted with happiness and absolute depression. “I don’t… I genuinely don’t know what to say.”
Atem used one hand to secure the tarp around his body against him so it wouldn’t fall. He took a few steps closer to Yuugi, and wrapped his other arm around him the best he could. Even with age, Yuugi was only a few inches taller than him now.
Yuugi’s spine tilted downwards. His hands hesitantly enclosed around Atem, before giving into the familiarity of time long gone. He hugged him too tight. He began crying too hard.
“Atem… I can’t… I can’t believe… I’m so sorry.”
Atem closed his eyes. Tears of his own began to form. He exhaled softly.
“It’s okay,” He almost called him partner. He caught himself. He didn’t know where they were, what was appropriate. What was inappropriate. “It’s alright, Yuugi.”
He deserved this. The law of cycles should not be broken.
He had tried to tell himself that he belonged here, but he ignored the signs. When he was still in the puzzle, even before he regained his memories, he knew he was an irregularity in the world. He had lived long past his expiration.
He shouldn’t exist. He knew this.
But he had tried anyways.
Because he missed him.
He had missed the moments they shared. The way Yuugi’s hands felt then, nothing like the rough ones he felt now.
He felt Yuugi’s grasp on his hand tighten.
Large amethyst eyes starred at him with the optimism and energy of a thousand suns.
“Don’t give up now, pharaoh! We’re all here now to support you!”
He eventually stepped out of the Mutou’s game shop. Said he would be back.
“Please, stop!” Yuugi shouted. Tears were in his eyes.
Atem’s mouth pursed for a moment at the command, soon giving way to a soft smile.
“I want to be with you forever. I don’t care if I ever get my memories back.”
He walked along that street, the street they always walked on. Together. He smiled. Even with age, his wife was beautiful. He wondered when Yuugi met her. They seemed like such a nice family.
He passed by a coffee shop. He saw Yami standing outside talking to another teenager around his age. He was running his fingers through his hair, hands waving wildly. He saw how his chest heaved as it tried to keep up with how fast he was talking. His friend looked as if they were at loss of words, a few feet back, hands clasped together.
He kept on walking.
Leaves were falling. The clouds shined with the deep pink colors of the setting sun.
He kept his eyes on the sky.
“Ra, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He bit his lip as a tear trailed down his cheek. It rolled down onto the tarp.
“I’m sorry I wasted the holy privileges you gave me.”
There was the train tracks. He thought of himself, how determined he was. How he was walking with excitement in the opposite direction he was wandering, aimlessly.
“I’ll give you all of my memories.”
He laughed at nothing. There was no humor.
“I’m such a dumbass.” He looked at the sun. “I don’t exist in this world. No identification, no birth certificate, no friends, no family.”
The wind blew, he heard bells in the distance, they warned of an oncoming light railcar.
His soft feet stepped down, into the ditch where the tracks were. They were warm from the sun.
His toes curled around the steel beams.
“I’m sorry for confusing you, Yuugi. I should’ve known better than to just barge in like that.”
He smiled again, throat wrenching sobs starting to break through his body as he laughed.
“I’m sorry for hurting you.”
He said as much as he could, as many apologies that he felt he owed through choked cries and fits of chuckles that he couldn’t stop.
He heard the train. He heard its loud horn, he knew it wouldn’t stop. There was no time. The horn kept on blaring, he admired how sleek and white the new trains had become. They must’ve been able to blast through all of Japan in record times.
“I’m sorry Ra, I hope you still have an adequate space for me in the afterlife. I hope you can pity me. I’m sorry I wasted your gift.”
The horn. The lights.
He laughed. He cried. And the railcar came around the corner faster than he could’ve imagined.
Technology, huh?
He only had time to think of one more thing before it all came crashing down in chunks.
His eyes. The smile. His hair. His hands.
“Thank you, mou hitori no boku.”
He chuckled, a soft noise. His nose sniffled. The aftermath of his anguished cries of hysteria.
“You’re welcome ai-“
And then the body that was so carefully preserved, all of those holy privileges, became unrecognizable. There was no returning to his mistakes, he was no more.
Just like the puzzle, he had destroyed the last link to Earth that he had.
And he was happy for him.
He really was.
Aibou.