Nothing Else Matters

TITLE: Nothing Else Matters
AUTHOR: Fyrbyrd
CATEGORIES: Angst, Drama
RATING: NC-17
WARNINGS: M/M, Lemon, Anal.
SPOILERS: None
PAIRINGS: YY/Y, M/M, YB/R
SUMMARY: Sequel to Nothing Lasts Forever. Yugi is traveling and upon reaching Egypt something happens, and he learns to trust again.
DISCLAIMER: I don’t own them, they own me. They are Kazuki Takahashi's. Nothing Else Matters belongs to Metallica.

Author’s Note: So it got wiped, Here we go again. At least the summary is better typed this time.

Nothing Else Matters
By Fyrbyrd

Yugi had a free ticket to go anywhere he wanted to go. And he went to a lot of places that he had wanted to see, visiting his friends in America. They were far more receptive to his visits this time. He still felt a little bitterness against them, only holding it back because they had been good to him in the beginning. But still he did not stay very long with them. He moved on seeing the world, enjoying his freedom, enjoying being able to do what he wanted to again. Enjoying the fact that Yami stayed quiet, even when Yugi knew he wanted to say something, but held back.

After a wonderful time in Australia, Yugi moved on to Africa, and a certain destination that had been pulling at him. As the private KC jet came into land, Yugi could feel Yami buzzing inside of him. The Pharaoh knew where they were.

“Yes we are here, but this is twenty-first century Egypt, Yami. It’s nothing like you remember.”

“It’s still where I came from,” answered Yami, very glad that his Hikari had finally spoken directly to him.

“That’s why we’re here. I wanted to see the place too. I also asked Malik to meet us here, he knows we are coming to visit, and apparently Ryou is here, he’s become an archaeologist and of course he specializes in Egyptology.”

“He was joined to an Egyptian thief of course he’d be into Egyptology.”

“And he’s been free of him for five years. I think he misses him.”

“Marik and Bakura are in the shadow realm where they belong.”

“Just like I would have been,” reminded Yugi. “And well, I was stupid enough to fall for you. I think Ryou and Malik did the same as me.”

Yami immediately went silent at the reminder of his betrayal.

Yugi got up from his seat after the plane had landed and hurried into the airport. Malik was indeed waiting for him.

“Well now, you have done well for yourself since I last saw you.”

“Yeah, who’d have thought that I would be a part of Kaiba Corp? You’re looking well Malik.”

“I am. But life’s a bit boring around here. I travel when I can and work at the museum with my sister. But I can’t say that I love my job. Sort of like I never wanted to be a tomb keeper either.”

“Speaking of museums, you said something about Ryou being here?”

“Yes, he’s been looking into a recent find of ancient magic scrolls. I don’t think he’s ever given up on finding that Yami of his and making him turn from evil either.”

“Yeah, I got that feeling too when I last heard from him.”

“And you, how are you really. Since…”

“It’s okay Malik. While Yami is still with me, he has no power. I got that when he locked me away in the puzzle and broke it. Perhaps that’s what the three of us need, to be the ones with the power over them.”

“You have the shadow power of the Pharaoh?”

“Yes. I haven’t used it much, but it helped me get free of the puzzle and I think I scared Kaiba shitless when I used it on him,” Yugi laughed, “That was very satisfying… You miss Marik don’t you?”

“Why would I miss that bastard?”

“Because in some weird way you loved him. Just like Ryou did Bakura and I did with Yami.”

“Did not do?”

Yugi smiled again. “That remains to be seen. I still haven’t gotten around to trusting him yet, though he’s been good lately.”

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I invited Ryou over for dinner. Ishizu won’t be there though, she’s been seeing someone and they have a date.”

“Lucky her.”

Yugi followed Malik out to the van he had waiting and they drove off to his place.

The place was like being in a small palace. Not something he was used to, but then he had been staying in luxurious hotel lately. It was a huge change from growing up as poor as he had. Now he could do anything he wanted to do, kind of like he had wanted to when he was younger, only there was something missing. He sat on the bed and sighed. He’d gone back to another state he understood very well. Being alone. He really missed those years now when he had had friends that cared about him, and a presence within that he had cared for.

-So close no matter how far-

He got changed and hurried back to the dining hall. He very much wanted to be with his two friends. At least these two understood what he had gone through.

Ryou was already in the room and he rose to greet his friend.

“Gods, Yugi, it’s really good to see you again. I was told what Yami did to you.” He put out his arms and pulled Yugi into a hug. Yugi was still a lot shorter than his friend.

“Yeah, I suppose I felt a little like you must have sometimes.”

“Oh but Bakura wasn’t all that bad.”

“I was right, you are missing him.”

Ryou bowed his head and nodded almost shyly. “I just feel so alone after having his spirit inside me. But there were times when I felt like he cared if only a little.”

“Yami locked me into the puzzle thinking I was going to the Shadow realm; I know how easily they could turn on us.”

There was that twinge again that he felt each time he reminded Yami of what he had done.

“How do you handle him still being…inside you?”

“Not easily, Ryou. But I have shadow power of my own now, and I can block him out if I need to, that I learned from him a long time ago when he did it to me.”

“Ah shadow power,” said Ryou as they moved back to the table where Malik had seated himself. “I’ve been reading a little about that lately.”

“I heard that you had become an archaeologist. Malik said you found some scrolls?”

“Yes, I have and they are from Yami’s time period.”

“Really, a way to get rid of him,” said Malik.

“Well… sort of.”

“Get rid of him?” said Yugi almost concerned.

“What do you mean sort of,” said Malik serving them all wine.

“I sort of discovered a couple of spells that we might find useful to us.”

“Useful?”

“A spell of transformation that can turn something evil into good. A spell of rebirth, to recover a soul lost. A spell of Soul Separation, to separate a twinned soul.”

Both Malik and Yugi were looking at Ryou with their mouths open and their eyes wide.

“I could change Marik and bring him back to me,” muttered Malik.

-Couldn’t be much more from the heart-

“And I could have Bakura back with me the same way,” said Ryou.

“And I could be free… free…” Yugi couldn’t finish.

“Yes, and all we need is a little shadow power and we can do it.”

Yugi lowered his head and nodded. The other two were very enthusiastic at the thought of getting their other halves back, and not being the mean bastards they had been.

But Yugi was a little reluctant as far as Yami was concerned. If he freed his other half what would happen then. But then he would have his own body back completely, not having to share it. Yami could go off and do what he wanted again.

“So Yugi, what do you think, do you want to try it?” asked Ryou as they sat with their meals in front of them.

“I don’t know. Is it really what you want? You know what happened with Yami. How do you know that they will not want their own lives if you did bring them back and free them? Can you trust them not to hurt you again? Can you trust them at all? I’ve come to learn that I can only trust myself.”

-Forever trusting who you are-

The other two looked at him, then back at their meals. Perhaps they should think about that a bit more first.

“I just don’t want to be so lonely any more,” said Marik quietly.

And all three went silent as they ate pondering their own thoughts, and thinking of times past.

The silence continued as they finished up.

“Look, maybe we should sleep on it, hey guys,” said Ryou. “I know that we are all lonely and that we’ve all had to suffer a little over the darkness of our other halves, but I don’t think that any of us can really live with out them, do you?”

-And nothing else matters-

Marik shook his head, but Yugi did nothing. He felt as if the other two might be able to have a new beginning with their other halves, but he had already felt betrayal once, he did not want to face it again. He had loved… probably still loved, Yami. He was still afraid to trust him again.

They all went off to bed, saying a quick goodnight to each other.

Yugi thought about how the other two really wanted this to happen. They had lived without their other halves for more than five years. And in part so had he, only he had been lost in a limbo world, alone.

He remembered the sharp pain of realization that he had been betrayed by the one person he loved most in the world. He had been trapped with no way out, kept in the darkness, blind, cold, unwanted, alone. He had wished and wished he could just go to sleep and forget it all, but there was no sense of time, no sense of direction, just an all enclosing darkness. An outer darkness and an inner darkness of hurt and pain. His strong soul refused to give in however. When he began to wonder just where he was and why he did not feel hungry or thirsty or tired, he decided to see if he could find anything else there in the darkness. After all this was the Millennium Puzzle wasn’t it?

He couldn’t remember how it had happened, but there was a time while he was there that he touched something in the darkness, something warm, that had in turn warmed him, infusing him. He had thought of light, and light came to him at the end of his hand. He came to realize that he had found the shadow magic that was within the puzzle, then he found out how to use it. He didn’t think about anything else then, except perhaps revenge. To get back at Seto Kaiba and Yami.

And he had done that, he had defeated Kaiba again and Yami was back where he…

Yugi turned over in his bed and found himself facing the puzzle as it sat on the bedside table. He sat up and picked it up, willing Yami to come out.

“Yugi?” the spirit asked. He had not been asked to do this in a very long time.

“I need to talk to you. I’ve blocked you out of everything that has taken place today, but there are some things I need to speak to you about…”

“What is it, Yugi?” Yami gently to tried to nudge, his Hikari seemed reluctant to do this.

“Marik and Bakura want their other halves back.”

“They would be fools to want such a thing, the spirit of the ring is evil and well, Marik is the darkness of Malik’s mind.”

“Yes, but Ryou has found a spell that could turn evil to good,”

“A spell?”

“He found some scrolls of shadow spells, there are a few they want to try so they can be complete again.”

“And you don’t want to do this?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“And this is bothering you because you cannot trust me, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Yami, it is. I want them to be happy again, because I can see that they are lonely.”

“So they will be reunited with their spirits again, only their souls will be changed for the good.”

“Yes, but not quite, there is another spell they want to use.”

“Hmm.”

“The spell of Soul Separation.”

“So they can have the living embodiment of their other halves with them?”

“Yes.”

“And they want to include you in it too?”

“Yes.”

“But you still do not trust us... me?”

“No.”

Yami nodded. “I meant it when I said I would never hurt you again, Yugi.”

“I know you did.”

“And I know you would like to be free of me, at least, to have me away from you.”

Yugi nodded absently.

“Then why not go ahead with it and I would promise to stay away from you, perhaps stay here while you go home, then you could be secure that I could never hurt you again.”

A shiver ran through Yugi at what Yami was saying. He couldn’t lift his head as he felt another twinge of hurt go through his body.

“But that‘s not it, is it?” said Yami suddenly. “You still love me, just as they love their other halves.”

Yugi threw himself onto the bed facing away from Yami, “Yes, Gods help me, yes.”

Yami nodded and faded back into the puzzle.

-Never opened myself this way-

For the first time since he had been freed from the puzzle Yugi cried, as his own loneliness consumed him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malik and Ryou were already at breakfast when Yugi joined them.

“Bad night?” asked Ryou.

“Yes. I told Yami that I still loved him.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” asked Malik.

“Yes, no, I don’t know… You have no idea of what it was like for me when Yami locked me in the puzzle. I didn’t think I would ever get out at first, that is after I realized that I was going to remain conscious in it. I still don’t know who long it took me to discover the shadow magic, or how long I took to embrace it, because it wasn’t so much learning it as that. Time meant nothing in there, and I was all alone. You think you are lonely now, you have no idea what it’s really like!” There were tears running down his eyes. He didn’t mean to get so angry and he could see that he had alarmed his friends.

“Shit, Yugi, I’m sorry. I suppose we don’t know what it was like for you. But you have to face the fact that you do still love Yami, despite what he did to you. What are you afraid of now? That he’ll hurt you again?” said Ryou.

“No, he said he’d stay here and let me go.”

“And you believed him, because he would.”

Yugi nodded at the statement.

“Yugi, we won’t push you into anything. If you don’t want to be apart of all this, we’ll find another way.”

“No. I am not going to stop you from having what you need. All I want you to think about is will they want you back. How do you know they will love you?”

“Anything’s got to be better than this,” said Malik and he sighed.

-Life is ours, we live it our way-

“Anyway, I’ve got to go to the museum, I’ll be back in a few hours, I’ll see you then,” continued Malik as he got up and left the other two behind.

“I take it you don’t speak with Yami much anymore?” asked Ryou.

“No, I was too angry at him to say anything. And having this vacation has been so good. I could never have afforded anything like this before. I belong to Kaiba Corp now; I have a job waiting for me when I get back. But still there is the problem of what to do about Yami. Yes, I still love him, yes I told him so, but I don’t think he’ll ever love me back the way he did with Seto. I do believe him when he says he’ll stay here, I know he would, he’d find a way to move on. What about me? What am I going to do?”

“Yugi, I know you have trust issues and all that, but will you do something for me?”

Yugi shrugged.

“Will you let me speak with Yami alone? There are some questions I need to ask him about some of the things you have brought up. Will you trust him enough to let him take you over so I can speak with him?”

“You mean alone, don’t you?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Let me have an hour to think about it, okay. I’ll see if I can handle it then.”

“Sure Yugi. Anything you want is fine with me.”

Yugi wandered around the gardens of Malik’s place. There was just so much going on in his mind that he just wanted to run away and wish that none of this had ever happened.

“You wish now you had never been given the puzzle now, don’t you?”

Yugi started at the voice that seemed to have come out of nowhere. “Ishizu.”

“I don’t need the Millennium Necklace to know that you are very troubled. I was told what the Pharaoh did to you, it was wrong, but he was once a Pharaoh used to having things all his own way. Used to having anything he wanted, if he didn’t see what was right in front of him then he didn’t see it at all.”

“I know all that –“

“And he was betrayed too, Seto Kaiba did to him what he did to you and it nearly destroyed him.”

Yugi closed his mouth and sighed. And nodded.

“Don’t be too afraid to ask him what he wants too.”

“He said he’d stay here.”

“So that you could be free.”

“Free to do what though.”

“Free of the fear you have of him, despite the fact that you are now the stronger one.”

“I’m not strong, I can’t… I can’t –“

“No, you can’t, but you will have to find a way for any of you to be happy. I want my brother to have what he needs, and he needs the other half of his soul returned, just as Ryou does, just as you do.”

-All these words I don’t just say-

Ishizu gave him a light kiss on the cheek. “Listen to your heart, I’ve found it to be something worth listening to.” Then she was gone.

-And nothing else matters-

Yugi slowly went back to find Ryou, his mind made up.

“I was told that you wanted to speak with me,” came a deeper voice from the body of his friend.

“Ah yes, Yami. Yugi has told you about the shadow spells that I have found?”

“Yes.”

“I wanted to ask you if they could work.”

“If they are truly from my time, then I have no doubt that they could.”

“And do you think they could reverse the evil in Bakura. To recreate Marik without the evil in him, and… and…”

“To separate all of us.”

Ryou nodded.

“I believe it could be possible. But as I said to Yugi, how do you know you will get what you want from your other halves, considering what I did to Yugi?”

“We don’t know, but we are willing to find out. We need to find out. I know Malik and I are just about holding on now. I don’t want to live with a life full of emptiness. There is something missing and I hope Bakura can replace it. If there is no love, then all I will seek is a friendship, if that is all I can have. But I need him in some form. I need what was taken from me.”

Yami nodded, “Then try it, if you must. I only ask for a place to stay. Yugi will not want me anywhere near him when he is free.”

“Ah, now there you are very wrong.”

“What!”

“Yugi needs you as much as we need our others. The fact that after all you did to him that he still loves you should have told you that. So I am going to ask you outright, Pharaoh, do you love Yugi enough not to hurt him ever again?”

“I would never hurt him again, I couldn’t –“

“But if you stay here and let him go, you will hurt him.”

“He doesn’t trust me.”

“Have you given him any reason to do so again? Do you trust him?”

-Trust I seek and I find in you-

“I… He would… I…” Yami had to stop and think. If their souls were separate there would be no fear of being locked into the puzzle. “Even if this were not to go ahead I believe Yugi would never lock me in the puzzle. Yes, I trust him. And despite what he thinks, I do love him. What happened with Kaiba was a huge mistake on my part. I didn’t listen to my heart, I listened to my groin, I was filled with lust and found a willing partner to that. For him it was merely a conquering, a way to defeat me when he couldn’t do it any other way.”

“Yugi is afraid to do this, but we can’t do it without the shadow magic.”

“Which I no longer hold, he does.”

“Then I think it is past time that the two of you talked, or none of us will be happy. None of us will get what we want or what we need, and you need him as much as he needs you.”

-Everyday for us something new-

Yami was nodding with his head bowed. “I will try.”

“Good,” smiled Ryou. “That’s all we can ask.”

Yami returned to the room that Yugi was using before he yielded to Yugi.

Yugi sat on the bed. “Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

“They wanted to know if the spells they had found might work.”

“And would they?”

“Yes, they might. I couldn’t guarantee them though.”

“Do you want me to go through with this?”

“They want you to.”

“I wasn’t asking about what they wanted I was asking you for once. Damn it Yami, it effects us too you know.”

“I know and I have already told you that I would go along with it and remain here if that is what you want.”

Yugi sighed heavily; they were back where they had started.

“Yugi, you may not trust me, but I trust you. I learned from the only time that I did not. I learned that I was an idiot because I was listening to the beguiling words of another. One that wanted to defeat me at all costs, even if he had to lower himself to make love to me. I was a fool and I have paid for that. Yugi, I need you to believe me when I say that I love you, and I would do anything to make you happy. I will stay here and let you go home without me if that is what you want.”

-Open mind for a different view-

“I know, I know. Please leave me for a little Yami; I need to think on my own.”

He felt that he was alone and he collapsed back onto the bed. Why was he still afraid to trust Yami? He loved him didn’t he?

-And nothing else matters-

Yugi moved over to the phone and picked it up, dialing in a number. “Hey Mokuba, how are you?”

“I’m great Yugi, are you enjoying your trip?”

“Oh yeah it’s been the greatest, we’re in Egypt now.”

“We?”

“Ah yeah… I’ve met up with Malik and Ryou.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“How is your brother doing?”

“Better Yugi. He’s still a bit pissed off with us, but he’ll get over it. Actually I think it’s good that he’s had to give up some of that control he holds on to so tightly. I think it will be the best thing for him in the end and I’ve actually found someone to help him and help me keep him in line when I’m not there.”

“Oh, who is that?”

“You remember Roland?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Well, he’s been close to us for a long time and I found out that he had a crush on my big brother.”

“Men don’t get crushes.”

“Okay lust then.”

Yugi almost choked.

“Anyway, it seems to be working out. I’ve seem smiles on both of their faces lately.”

“He’s been sleeping with your brother?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“So why’d you call anyway? Something wrong?”

“The guys have found a way some spells that we can use, one of which can separate me from Yami.”

“So that’s a good thing. Isn’t it?”

“”I suppose.”

“Yugi, Yami can’t hurt you anymore, you know that, don’t you… And I thought you still loved him?”

“I know Mokuba, but I suppose I’m still afraid of all that happened before. I don’t think I could face him rejecting me again.”

“Do you think he would?”

Yugi sighed again, “No.”

“So, what’s wrong then? Seto is not going to be a problem, even if you came home as separate people. Yugi, if you want to be happy you know you need to do this. Think of it this way then, you can flaunt the fact that in the end you did get Yami, you win again, that’ll piss Seto off again.”

Yugi laughed. “You do like pissing him off lately, don’t you?”

“Why not? He deserves it for once. Yugi, I want you to be happy too. Forgive Yami and be happy.”

“You’re a good friend Mokuba.”

“You were always that to me. I’ll see you when you get home. Both of you.”

-So close no matter how far-

Yugi put the phone down with a smile. Then he hurried to the dining room where he was sure he would find the others. Along the way he opened his link with Yami.

Both Ryou and Malik looked at him as he came into the room. They both smiled when they saw his face.

“So, you’ve decided to try it,” said Ryou.

“Yeah. Let’s do it. Nothing could be worse than the loneliness we all feel.”

-Couldn’t be much more from the heart-

The pair moved over to their friend patting him on the shoulders and hugging him tightly.

“Now?” asked Ryou.

“Get the scrolls,” answered Yugi.

//Are you sure?// asked Yami.

/Yes, I am./

-Forever trusting who we are-

Ryou came back with the scrolls and Malik led them outside to the gazebo. Yugi hadn’t noticed that evening was approaching. Malik lit some torches around the gazebo and they placed the scrolls on the table within.

Yugi stood facing it, his hands clenched tightly taking breath.

“Are you all right?” asked Ryou.

“Yeah, since I let the magic take me I haven’t used it that much.”

“Are you afraid of it?”

“Yeah, sort of. But I can control it, and if I can’t I… I think someone else can help me.”

Two faces beamed at him, and inside him he felt an inner warmth he had not allowed himself to feel for a very long time.

-And nothing else matters-

For a while they sat around the table figuring out what they would have to do first and then how they would do it.

“So the spell of rebirth first then? Said Ryou.

“I’ll need to memorize it first, so you two do the rest.” Yugi said as he sat down to recite the words over and over. The words where in hieroglyphic form, but he could read them easily, not even caring whether it was something he got from Yami or from the magic.

It was very late, but the three were eager to do this. Malik quickly got the brazier going and Ryou shifted all the seats from the gazebo.

“Ryou, you first, we will recall Bakura first, then Marik.”

Ryou stood on the other side of the burning brazier while Yugi chanted the incantation, raising his hands to set free the shadow magic he held within himself.

-Never opened myself this way-

It was as if the wind had suddenly picked up and the whole area turned dark as if in a shadow game.

“Call him Ryou, call his soul to you,” said Yugi, his eyes shining red in the firelight.

The white haired young man did just that, closing his eyes as he reached out for the lost soul of his other half, Yami Bakura.

He almost fell backwards when he felt the soul sucked into his body.

“Without the ring he has no way to control you, hold him within you until we can do the next spell,“ said Yugi.

Ryou nodded and they moved away from the fire. The darkness withdrew and the wind disappeared as if it had never existed.

Yugi picked up the next scroll and began to memorize the spell, the spell of transformation, this he would use for both Ryou and Malik. This time it did not take long for him to have it down right.

“Okay Marik first, then we will use the same spell to see if we can change Bakura as well.”

-Life is ours, we live it our way-

Malik stood on the other side of the brazier, his eyes were wide and he smiled when the wind and darkness returned.

“Call for Marik, he resides within you still, call him forth and we will transform him.”

At first Malik grabbed his head, the madness of his other half seeking to gain control.

Yugi recited the words of the spell and the magic swirled from him descending upon Malik. He cried out with its touch, though it seemed to be more his other half crying out than himself. He fell to his knees still clutching his head and it took many long minutes before he seemed to relax, though he was breathing heavily.

“Quickly, Ryou,” said Yugi, he too was tiring and they still had more to do.

Ryou stood beside Malik still kneeling on the ground, but no longer clutching his head.

“Call for Bakura, call him forth and we will transform him.”

As with Malik, Ryou clutched at his head as he threw it back, crying out.

The magic swirled from Yugi entering his friend, he cried out again and also fell to his knees, shaking with the effort, but as with his friend, he too soon relaxed and breathing heavily landed on the flat of his hands still on his knees.

The wind and darkness fled as the spell was finished. And Yugi swayed on his own feet, panting like his two prone friends. But he managed to stay on his feet and moved to retrieve the third and most important spell.

Minutes later Malik and Ryou got to their feet and left the gazebo to join Yugi on the seats outside it. Neither said a word as they watched Yugi softly mouthing the words of the spell he was taking into his mind.

Later he turned to them, “This will be the hardest of the three, because I will be using it for all of us. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

Both looked at him and nodded.

“I think it’s going to hurt.”

Again they nodded.

-All these words I don’t just say-

Yugi took a big breath, /Yami will you help me./

//I am here while you need me.//

Yugi nodded and got to his feet, the other two followed. Ryou took his place on the other side of the brazier. He too closed his eyes as they prepared for the next step, the spell of Soul Separation.

Yugi closed his eyes and called upon the magic again, pulling more of it than he had before. The sky darkened, the wind quickened, then roared about outside. Yugi raised his arms and called the magic forth; beginning to chant the incantation, a much more complicated one than the others. He had to repeat it over and over as the spell built. Then Ryou screamed as swayed as if he had been hit by something hard, an image beside him of another. His eyes were wide and blank as the other half of his soul, the one they called Bakura, emerged and solidified beside him. His face bore the same expression, until both screamed together, falling to the floor. Yugi also fell onto his hands and knees as Malik hurried over to check on Ryou.

“Hey Ryou, wake up, are you all right, Ryou?” he lightly slapped his face.

Ryou opened his eyes, “Yeah, just tired, real tired.”

-And nothing else matters-

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here and onto a seat, ” Malik lifted his friend up and half carried him to a seat. Then he approached the other. “Bakura?” He also lightly slapped the larger, older form of his friend. His eyes opened, but he did not say anything. Malik half carried him to another seat and left him there before moving to check on Yugi.

//Yugi, are you all right?// Yami was calling to him.

“Yugi, are you okay?” asked Malik helping him to his feet.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Just took a bit more out of me than I thought. Think I’ll need a rest before we try for you.”

“Damn right,” said Malik and they moved over to the seats opposite the other pair.

Bakura closed his eyes then opened them sighing deeply and looking at his new body. “Well now, this feels good. A body all my own, it’s been a long time. How the hell did you do it?” He looked over at the two, titled his head, “Ah shadow magic. I can smell it from here.” Then he looked at his other half, still slumped tiredly in his chair, eyes trying to stay open. “I see it took something from you to have us separate, but then you must have wanted me back to do such as this.”

“I couldn’t live without you,” said Ryou.

“Hn, let’s see if you can live with me.”

Ryou smiled despite his Yami’s words.

Malik moved over to Yugi. “Maybe we should hold off until tomorrow.”

“No, I want to finish this. I’ll be okay, and I won’t be alone.”

-Trust I seek and I find in you-

Malik looked at him strangely a moment, then realized what Yugi had said.

They got to their feet and moved to take their places. Yugi sought the magic again and it came though his body shook. He closed his eyes and sought for something else.

//I am here for you, always.//

The warmth infused him and the magic came with a burst, he began to chant the words again. As before Malik swayed and screamed and his body jerked with the separation of the newly created soul within him, his darker half come into being, solidifying beside him as he stared at nothing before collapsing. However, Marik caught him before he fell to the ground landing on his knees holding his light.

The spike haired man got to his feet, lifting the slighter form of himself up and carrying him to the seats, only he took one seat, keeping Malik in his lap, staring at him with a strange sort of surprised expression.

“Now there’s something I though I’d never see,” said Bakura.

Yugi again fell to his knees breathing hard, but he was soon able to turn around and look at the four seated before him. Marik turned the face of his other to him, and without a word kissed him on the lips.

-Everyday for us something new-

“Damn, get a room,” said Bakura.

“Do you need us?” Marik asked of Yugi.

Yugi shook his head.

Marik got to his feet and lifted his tired other half into his arms bridal style and carried him into the house.

“Well, I guess he was right after all,” said Yugi as he watched them leave.

Bakura was still staring after them, surprised that they were doing exactly what he had told them to. He looked over at his other half again. “He wanted his other half that much? Is this what you want of me?”

-Open mind for a different view-

Ryou nodded.

Bakura looked away nodding his head up and down as he considered it. “After all I put you through, you still want me?”

Ryou smiled, and nodded again.

Bakura laughed and got to his feet. “Do we have a room?” Ryou nodded again and smiled some more, “If you don’t need us, little Yugi…”

Yugi shook his head.

Bakura got to his feet, scooped his light into his arms and walked into the house without looking back.

“Are you ready, Yami?”

“You’re tired Yugi, we can leave it until later.”

“No, I need you, I want you, I love you.” The warmth inside him crept to every corner of his body, “And nothing else matters.”

Yugi called forth the magic, which came to him more easily now. Only this time it swirled around him spinning and twisting, whirling and twirling as he chanted. He felt as if he was being lifted from his feet as his body jerked with the jolt that separated him and Yami. At first he felt an emptiness so deep he thought it could never be filled, only to feel a few minutes later a body beside him that seemed to complete him even though it was separate from him. He felt himself being turned and pulled into the arms of his other until he was face to face with him, then their lips met and the kiss was soul deep as he felt the love of his dark half enter into his being. A love that had always been there, locked behind the doors of his mind. Yugi would never recall how he and Yami wound up in his room, but his next memory was finding himself naked and being laid on his bed by the one person in the universe that he had ever loved so greatly as this.

-So close no matter how far-

“I love you, Yugi, forever.”

“And I have always loved you.”

-Couldn’t be much more from the heart-

They kissed as Yami moved over his body, laying lightly over him as they became acquainted with each other in a new way.

-Forever trusting who you are-

They needed no words as Yami prepared his smaller lover for him. His fingers stretching him as Yugi moaned and cried out in need and want, arching up to meet them. Once he was ready, Yami moved into position and eased into the smaller man. He held his head in his hands as he kissed him hard, loving his mouth as he loved his body. Moving in unison as if they were meant to be like this forever.

-And nothing else matters-

A few rooms away Malik sat above the body of his dark half, riding him hard, moaning and crying out, as the larger hands played with his nipples, to gain more groans and gasps.

And the third bedroom had Ryou lying on his stomach as his dark rode him from behind, pumping in and out of his lover, who clutched at the sheet, crying out in pleasure.

All three pairs loved long and came all at the same time, before collapsing beside each other drawing the smaller of the lovers into their arms and dropping off into sleep.

Of them all Yami was the last to succumb, he pushed the long hair from Yugi’s face as he smiled down at him.

“As the Gods are my witness, Yugi. I will never leave you, never hurt you again.” He looked over at the puzzle that sat on the bedside table. Even as he closed his eyes, it fell apart into its pieces.

THE END

This story will be continued in "In the End" when Yugi goes home to work for Kaiba Corp. However, it is not completed yet.