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So, I watched the last episode of Yugioh, and it was so sad I nearly cried. T_T Anyways, my word program was open and I started typing and this was what popped out.

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The sounds of the birds' songs filled the air, as the old man sat by the window. It was a rather nice day out, sunny, but not too hot, perfect for this time of the year.

This time. Today was his birthday, he remembered, and, like yesterday and the days before, he remained alone here in this room. Of course, he knew it was necessary. At 116 years old, he could hardly do anything for himself any more. He supposed most would have thought he should have been grateful to live so long. All his closest friends had long since passed on.

But, that was most people. Others, his children, and grandchildren, and, even, great grandchildren, as well as those of his friends, knew better. He would have rather gone with those before, instead of having to sit here now, friendless.

Later on, his family would arrive, he knew. And there would be balloons and presents and even a cake, though he would only be able to eat a small bit of it. His body didn’t react well to sweets anymore.

The man looked over at the dresser, on which sat some old pictures, of back when they had been young, in the prime of their lives. Things had seemed so difficult then, a handful of teenagers, doomed to save the world again and again. But they had always prevailed. Well, back then, anyway. But nothing could prevail against old age and disease. One by one, sickness and their failing bodies had claimed them. Anzu… she had the worst of it, or maybe the best, depending on how one looked at it. She had only been in her mid-thirties when she had been killed in a car accident.

“Grandpa!” The old man turned and smiled as one of his great granddaughters burst into the room, followed by her father. Well, at least there were still small blessings, even now. His descendants lived on. This one was his favourite. She had the gift, able to almost always pull the card she needed when she mock-duelled with him. Not that it would really come in handy for that, though. Duel Monsters was a thing of the past, as many card games were. Time passed and things changed, and people died.

“Have you been behaving?” He asked, as the girl settled herself on his lap and hugged him tightly, offering a birthday kiss.

“Sometimes.” She answered cheekily.

“You’d better behave, or Slifer will come get you.” It was an old joke between them, and meaningless, really. He couldn’t have summoned Slifer if he had tried. Or Obelisk, or any of the monsters. The three Blue Eyes, the Red Eyes, the Egyptian Gods and all the other powerful cards that rested now in his deck. All of them had been left to him, either handed over on deathbeds or left in wills, or given by family with little or no interest in the powerful game that had saved the world, and changed all their lives.

“Did you hear, Grandfather? They found an old Egyptian tomb. Apparently it was placed in an unusual spot, and was all buried. Belonged to some Pharaoh named Atemu.”

The old man looked up, shocked. They had found Atemu’s tomb. He had thought the room would remain sealed for eternity. But then, there was probably no danger anymore, was there?

“They showed some of the hieroglyphs in there on the news. Strangest thing, really. There was one panel of people dressed in odd clothing, and it looked like the Pharaoh was duelling with himself, but he was dressed in strange clothing as well.” The younger man shrugged. He didn’t normally pay much attention to the past, preferring to live in the present, as his other Great Grandfather had done. But he knew that the old man was fond of such things. Most of his other friends had been too.

“Perhaps he was.” The man murmured, but so low that none heard it but him, the little girl having moved off his lap to go and get his present.

It was lovely, an Egyptian printed blanket to wrap around his shoulders when the nights got colder. He thanked her and sat back, sighing softly.

“Shall we duel?”

The answer was as expected, of course. The girl went to the top drawer on the dresser, getting out the golden box that hid inside, yet another relic of the past, and came to set it on the table, opening it and drawing out the two decks that lay inside. One was his, from days gone and still, in his opinion, as powerful as ever. The other was one she had made from the other cards he had. It changed subtly, on occasion, as she discarded certain cards and tried others. All the cards were old and ragged, the pictures worn by time and countless duels. And the old man’s hands were tired, arthritis making them gnarled and weak. Still, he held the cards carefully, making sure not to rip the delicate material, or lengthen the rips that were already there. There had been offers, numerous times, to have new ones made, with the new plas-paper that was all the rage now, but he had refused. The cards were the only things he had left from back then.

The duel was as interesting as ever, though he lost, as he did more and more often these days. His mind wasn’t as sharp as it had once been, his luck not as good. Still, it was fun to relive the old days, and to remember.

But before long the visit was over, the cards tucked away until the next time they would be taken out, goodbyes said and hugs exchanged. Then he was alone again, left to stare out the window and listen to the birds singing again.

He would miss the child, he knew, would miss seeing her grow and become a young lady, to fight her own duels and defeat her own opponents. But, a hundred years had passed and he was tired.

“Hey, Pal. Are you ready?” He smiled and closed his eyes at the familiar voice, not turning to look; he knew what he would see. They were all there, waiting, as they had waited for so many years.

“”And we’d wait for years more.” Anzu. He’d missed her cheerful voice, despite the fact that her friendship speeches had occasionally gotten on his nerves.

“All right. Enough with the little reunion. Let’s go. I’ve got things to do.”

“Yeah? Like what, Moneybags? You’ve got all eternity.”

“Too bad it would take more than an eternity for you to actually start using that brain of yours.” The old man chuckled. So the two were still at it. Unsurprising, really. Some things never changed.

“Let’s go. There’s too many duels to play to waste time sitting around here.”

“Honda just wants to get back to that new Egyptian girl he met.”

“Jou! That was supposed to be a secret.”

“Oops.”

And then, the voice he had been waiting for. Strong and deep, full of the courage and love that he had felt so closely.

“It’s time, Aibou.” He reached out to take the hand that was offered to him. But his skin was no longer paper-thin and marred by veins and liver spots. It was young and strong, as his body suddenly was again. Laughing, the teen spirit left the shell it had harboured in, pulled in to a close hug. All his friends gathered around, hugging him and laughing, glad to be back together finally.

“Are you ready?” He looked up at the spirit, smiling, glad to see the face so like his own, and yet, so different. Once more he looked back at his body, now nothing more than an empty husk, then turned towards the light.

“Come on, Minna. Let’s go home.”

******

T_T T_T T_T

So, what did you think? I tried to make it a secret who it was exactly, but I’m not sure how well I did. Anyways, now that I’m feeling even sadder, I think I’m going to go have a good cry.

Oh, by the by, this is in no way related to any of my other stories. It’s just a cute little one shot I felt like doing.