Summery: SPOILERS! YuugixAnzu with hints of HondaxShizuka. Time has passed since Atemu left, and life isn’t too great for Yuugi Mutou. With his friends out of town and Christmas coming up, Yuugi feels more alone than ever. But when an old friend pays a visit, things start to change…
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is Copyright to Kazuki Takahashi
Chapter One
It’s
strange, how time seems to pass by like a blur, without you noticing.
Well, that’s how I feel anyway. ‘Time
has passed since I had to duel Mou Hitori no Boku in the ceremonial
battle in Egypt, and to give you a hint at how much time has passed,
I’m 19 now. I’ll let you do the maths. But it still feels like
yesterday when Mou Hitori no Boku lost the duel and had to return to
afterlife. But I can tell you, a lot has changed since I returned to
Japan. ‘As
I said before, I’m 19 years old. I’m still the same person as I
used to be- kind, caring- and I still look the same-apart from the
fact that I’ve grown a bit since the last time you saw me. I’ve
only grown a few inches though. I’m about the same height as Mou
Hitori no Boku, maybe taller, but I’m still nowhere near Jonouchi
and Honda’s height. ‘My
life has changed a little too. I graduated from Domino High, and am
now attending the local university, where I’m studying Ancient
Egyptian History (which I’m getting high marks in)…I wonder
why?…). I guess that all those adventures with Mou Hitori no Boku…I
mean… Atemu, and the Sennen items has really got me interested in
Egyptian History. Plus, I get to go on digs with jii-chan! But when
I’m not on digs in Egypt-I’ve only been on one short one so
far-or studying at home, I work in the game shop. After all, I will
be taking over the rights to the shop as soon as I’m ready. And
besides, its not like I have anything else to do since my friends
have left me. ‘The
Kaiba brothers are still running their company, building new Kaiba
Lands all around the world, creating new duel disks, and even setting
up a duelling academy right here in the city. It’s very popular
with kids that want to be pro duellists. ‘Jou
and Honda left a few weeks ago, but it seems like they’ve been gone
forever. After graduating from school, they decided to take a year
off before studying at uni. They got a few jobs to keep themselves
busy during the day, but a few weeks ago, they left to visit Jou’s
sister, Shizuka, since it’s the Christmas season. Honda went
because he and Shizuka are together now. Took them a while, didn’t
it? I’m happy for them, really I am, but seeing them together
reminds me of my closest and oldest friend… ‘Speaking
of Anzu, she’s in America now. After leaving school, she got a
place in one of the world’s best dancing schools. She’s only been
there for about a year and a half, but she’s already become a huge
star, both over there and here in Japan. There are posters of her
everywhere, and every time I see them it reminds me of how much I
miss her, and how I regret not telling her how I really feel. Ah
well, it’s Christmas tomorrow, at least I’ve got that to look
forward to.’ Yuugi
Mutou walked through the front door of the Kame Game shop, closing it
behind him, making sure that the sign on the front said ‘open’.
9:30am. Time to get to work. The tri-coloured hair teen looked up at
the counter, expecting it to be empty, but instead saw his
grandfather waiting for him. He smiled down at Yuugi in his usual
cheery way. Yuugi smiled back faintly. “Good
Morning Yuugi!” said Sugoroku cheerily. “Did the walk
help?” Recently,
Yuugi had been feeling (and looking) depressed, due to Christmas
coming up and all his friends were out of town for a while and
wouldn’t be able to make it to the celebrations. He had had a lot
on his mind, and because of this, he would space out for a while,
which Sugoroku had found hard not to notice. So, when Yuugi had come
down for breakfast that morning, he had suggested that Yuugi should
go for a short walk before the shop opened in the fresh morning
air-even though it was freezing cold-to clear his head. And if when
he came back he didn’t feel like working, Sugoroku was more than
happy to work in his place. “Hai
jii-chan,” Yuugi said whilst walking up to the counter. He took off
his jacket and hung it on the back of the door that lead to their
living area. “The walk helped a lot.” “Are
you sure?” asked Sugoroku, not entirely convinced. “Because you
know that you can take the day off if you still don’t feel up to
working.” “I
know but I can handle it. Besides, you worked all day yesterday, so
it’s only fair that I work today.” At
first, Sugoroku was reluctant to let Yuugi work. He still looked a
little worse for wear. But once he saw the determination in Yuugi’s
eyes, his heart softened and he changed his mind. “Alright
Yuugi, I’ll let you work today,” he said whilst making his way to
the part of the building where he and Yuugi lived. He stopped at the
doorway and turned to face his grandson. “But call me if you get
tired or need a break.” “I
will jii-chan. Thanks.” -I- The
day passed just like every other day did for Yuugi; dull and
uneventful. The mailman came in the morning to deliver the days post.
As Yuugi went through the mail, separating the bills and Christmas
cards from everything else, he found that he had been sent two
letters. He opened the first one and found it was from Jonouchi and
Honda. It read; Dear
Yuugi, Hey
bud, how are you? Me and Honda are having a great time, especially
Honda who keeps kissing my sister whenever I’m out the room! (How
could I not kiss her?Honda) Shizuka
says ‘hi’ and says that she’ll try and visit again when ever
she can. I
hope you’re doing OK Yuugi, ‘cause we both really miss you and
can’t wait to get home so we can all hang out again! Before
we go, we just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas Yuugi. Make sure
you enjoy yourself and save some Turkey for me! You know how much I
love your gramps cooking! (Jou) From
your best buds, Jou
and Honda Yuugi
was glad to hear how well his friends were doing and smiled as he
read Jonouchi’s letter. After reading it he picked up the second
envelope. Judging by the various foreign air-mail stamps that had
been used, this second letter was from his oldest and closest friend,
Anzu. Her letter read: Dear
Yuugi, Thanks
for your last letter. It really cheered me up after a long and tiring
day. You don’t know how much I miss you guys! Things
are really hectic over here right now, as I’m suppose to be
appearing on TV shows left, right and centre. I’ve also got to
practise for this huge show that’s coming up so I’m never out the
dance studio. But there’s a slight problem: I have no idea where
the show is going to be! A lot of help that is! I
hope you’re alright Yuugi, and I hope that you have a good
Christmas. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but I’ll be
there in spirit! With
love from your dearest friend, Anzu Yuugi
was happy that his friends still wrote to him and that they hadn’t
forgotten about him, but the letters reminded him of how far apart
they were. Would they ever be as close as they used to
be? -I- The
shop was busy that day, since it was the last day to shop before
Christmas and there were many late shoppers about, so Yuugi always
had something to do. Most of the customers were parents who had come
into buy a new game that had just been released, or were kids coming
in to buy a present for a relative or friend, but occasionally a few
duellists that Yuugi recognised can in to buy some Duel Monster
cards. There
were two kids that Yuugi particularly remembered. They had come in to
buy some Duel Monster cards, and told Yuugi that they wanted to be
the world’s best duellist, just like himself. They were two young
boys; one had short blonde hair, and was very loud and confident, if
not a little dumb; the other kid was a little shorter than the first,
had spiky black hair with hints of red highlights, and was more quiet
and shy compared to the first. To Yuugi, they reminded him of Jou and
himself, only younger. ‘One
things hasn’t changed these past couple of years. I’m still the
world’s best duellist and King of Games. Something which Kaiba is
still unhappy about. In fact, I think my next duel with him is
sometime before New Years. Fun…’ Later
that evening, when the shop was closed up and the days takings had
been counted and put away, Yuugi sat by his desk in his room,
flicking through an old book. But it wasn’t just any book; it was a
scrapbook, which he had made over the years since he became friends
with Jou and Honda. It was filled with all sorts of clippings from
newspapers and magazines, and old photos of him and his friends when
they were still in High School. There were pictures of them all
together in Duellist Kingdom, their hometown during Battle City, even
some of them when they were in Egypt. There was one particular
picture that always caught his eye. It was of him and Anzu in Egypt
after they had just arrived. The pair had one arm wrapped around each
other and had huge smiles across their faces. As Yuugi looked more
closely, he could see that they were both blushing slightly. A small
smile appeared on Yuugi’s lips. Photos
weren’t the only things in the scrapbook. There were also newspaper
articles of whenever Yuugi won a tournament or an important duel,
complete with a few pictures of the duel (How these pictures had been
taken Yuugi did not know). Only the person in the photo’s duelling
wasn’t Yuugi, but Atemu. Sometimes, it was Yuugi in the
photo, after the duel had taken place and he was collecting some sort
of prize. But most of the time, Yuugi could tell that it was the
Egyptian Pharaoh. Memories
started flashing in his mind of all the duels they faced together; of
how they became such good and close friends in such a short space of
time; how they discovered Atemu’s past together; how Atemu had
managed to rescue Yuugi’s soul when it was captured; how Yuugi
defeated him, sending him to the spirit world… Yuugi
slammed the book shut. All those memories were starting to make him
feel depressed again, not to mention giving him a headache. “Mou
Hitori No Boku…Anzu…Jou and Honda…all of them are gone…I’m
all alone now…” Yuugi
felt a few tears fall down him cheek, and land on his book with a
small ‘plop’. Sniffling, he dried his eyes, knowing that his
friends wouldn’t want him to cry. He looked at the clock beside his
bed. 11pm. Time for bed. Yuugi turned off his lamp, and climbed into
bed, hoping that his dreams would be happy and peaceful. He
had never been so wrong in his life… He
was trapped, alone in the darkness. He tried calling out, but his
voice made no sound. Panicking, he frantically looked around for
signs of life. But all he could see was darkness. Complete and utter
darkness. He was all alone… That’s
when he heard it; laughter. Dark, evil laughter, echoing all around
him. Yuugi looked around anxiously for the source of the laughter. He
soon found it. Out of the shadows stepped out every single person
Yuugi had hoped he’d never see again. All his old foes- Pegasus,
Marik, Dartz- every single person he and Atemu had faced in order to
save the world were closing in on him, trapping him in a
circle. Yuugi
was scared, more than he had ever been before. But when all hope
seemed lost, Yuugi spotted a group of familiar people, just outside
the circle. His friends were all grouped together – Anzu, Jou,
Honda, even Atemu was there. “Mou
Hitori no Boku! Anzu! Anyone! Help me!” he called out to them.
“Please! Help me!” But
they couldn’t hear him. There were too far away, disappearing into
the shadows. Yuugi tried and tried again to call out to them, but it
was too late. They were gone. He was left alone, his old enemies now
only metres away. He didn’t know what to do. He was trapped. This
was it. This was the end. He screamed out in fear as they were only
inches away… Yuugi
bolted up in his bed with a scream. Panting, he tried to catch his
breath back, whilst wiping the cold sweat from his head. The images
of the nightmare were still fresh in his mind. ‘What
a horrible dream. I’m glad it was only that: a dream. But…then
again…it wasn’t. Just like in that dream…or should I say
nightmare…I’m alone. My friends are nowhere near me. They can’t
help me or talk to me! I’M ALL ALONE!’ Yuugi
felt his eyes burn as more tears formed and fell down his face. This
time, he let them fall. They had been kept inside for so long, they
needed to fall. He couldn’t keep them locked away any
longer… …But
that’s when he noticed something odd. It
was close to midnight, yet the sky was as bright as if it was
morning. Curiously, Yuugi looked out his window, and soon saw the
source of the light. It was a star. The brightest star he had ever
seen. “What
a strange star,” he commented to himself, “I’ve never seen
anything like it…” And then he got an idea. “Hey! Maybe it’s
a special star which grants you a wish, like some sort of Christmas
miracle! It may be corny, but I might as well give it a try. I have
nothing to lose.” Yuugi closed his eyes, put his hands together,
and focussed, hard. “Oh great start burning in the sky, please
grant me this one wish. Please let me be reunited with my friends
soon!” Yuugi
focussed hard on his wish for a few more moments, then slowly opened
his eyes. He had expected something to happened. He just didn’t
know what exactly. Maybe there should’ve been a flash of light, or
maybe something had happened to. He checked himself over. He didn’t
look or feel any different. How was he suppose to know if it
worked? “I
guess it didn’t work,” he sighed in disappointment. “Oh well,
I’d better get…back…to…what the hell?” The
sky had suddenly become a lot brighter. The star that Yuugi had
wished on was shinning brighter than it had done before. Yuugi felt
himself before hypnotised by the white light. It was so calming…so
peaceful… Then,
suddenly, a giant burst of light shot from the star, straight into
Yuugi’s room. Yuugi covered his eyes to protect them from the
blinding light, but made sure that he could still see what was
happening by looking through the gaps between his
fingers. “What’s
going on?” he cried out. Yuugi
noticed something coming down the ray of light into his room. A
shadow of some sort. As he looked closer, he could see that it looked
like a person. Slowly,
the light from the ray died down, but not completely. As the light
began to fade away, Yuugi could see the shadow become clearer and
clearer. He was right, it was a person, and they looked strangely
familiar. As he looked more closely, the light dying away around him,
he could see that the figure was wearing some very interesting
clothes. It looked like some Pharaoh’s attire from Ancient Egypt.
The figure had very similar hair to himself, only this person had a
few more blonde streaks here and there. Yuugi’s heart beat
quickened in excitement as he recognised the figure standing in his
room. “It
can’t be…but it is!…” The
light faded, leaving a small glow emitting from the ghostly figure. A
smile crept up on Yuugi’s face as the familiar figure smiled down
on him. “Mou
Hitori no Boku!” Yuugi cried with joy. -I-
“Mou
Hitori no Boku!” Yuugi cried with joy. Atemu
smiled down on his friend. It had been a long time since they had
last spoken, or even seen each other, yet they never forgot one
another. Friends never did. “Hello
aibou,” Atemu greeted happily. “It is good to see you
again.” “It’s
good to see you too, Mou Hitori no Boku,” Yuugi returned the
greeting. The smile on his face grew with each passing second, and it
wasn’t fading any time soon. There
was a small pause in which the two old friends didn’t know what to
say to each other. It had been so long since they’d seen each
other, and there was so much to tell that they didn’t know where to
begin. After a few moments had passed, Yuugi spoke up. “So…er…how
is it?” he asked carefully. “The afterlife, I mean…” To
say that Atemu was taken aback by this question was an
understatement. “Well…er…it’s
OK,” Atemu answered, struggling for words. “I mean, do not that
this the wrong way aibou, it is good seeing everyone from Egypt
again…It is just that…it is…not…the same…as being with you
and the others.” “I
know what you mean,” Yuugi sighed softly, looking away
slightly. Atemu
looked down at his old hikari. He could easily tell when something
was wrong with his former vessel. They had shared the same body for
quite some time after all and knew each other as well as they knew
themselves. Something was bothering him, but what? “So,
how have you been aibou?” Atemu asked after another brief
pause. “Oh,
I’ve been OK, I guess,” Yuugi answered, picking his words
carefully. He didn’t want Atemu to know how miserable he was. “I
graduated from school and I’m now studying Ancient Egyptian history
at university. It’s pretty interesting actually. I’ve been on a
couple of digs and I can read a bit of hieroglyphs-” Yuugi
cut off, not wanting to say anymore, fearing that he would pour his
heart out at any second. He didn’t want Atemu to listen to his
worries; he had more important things to do, being that he was the
spirit of an Ancient Pharaoh. He was sure Atemu had other more
important things to worry about. Atemu
looked down at Yuugi. He was hiding something from him, he knew it.
He was keeping something bottled up inside that was screaming to get
out. He had to find out what it was, before it controlled Yuugi.
After all, he knew first hand what it’s like to be controlled by
your emotions. And that no one should ever keep their feelings
bottled up inside. It would only destroy them. “Aibou,
there is something else bothering you,” Atemu said sternly. He came
over and sat on the end of Yuugi’s bed. “Nani?”
Yuugi looked up in surprise. “Hai, there is. But how did
you-“ “Know?”
Atemu interrupted. He chuckled. “Aibou, even though we do not share
a physic bond anymore, I can still read your thoughts like a book.
So, tell me what is wrong? I would like to help you.” “Well,”
Yuugi began, still a little hesitant. “It’s just that…ever
since you left after the ceremonial battle, I’ve been wondering
what life would have been like if you hadn’t left. What would I
being doing if you had stayed here on Earth with me? And also, Anzu’s
been gone over a year now, and Jou and Honda have been gone for a
while too, and with you and all of them gone, I’m left on my own.
It feels like they’ve abandoned me! I’M ALL ALONE!” Yuugi
clenched his fists, trying to hold back the fresh tears that
threatened to fall. Unfortunately, one fell silently down his cheek.
‘Man, how many times am I gonna cry in one night?’ Atemu
watched Yuugi with wide, shock eyes. In all the years that he and
Yuugi had been connected by the Sennen Puzzle, he had never seen
Yuugi this…this…depressed before. He didn’t know that
his departure, and his friend’s, could cause so much pain. Just
seeing his old partner like this was enough to break his heart. He
had to help him…somehow… And
that‘s when it hit him. He knew exactly what he had to do. He stood
up and walked over to where Yuugi sat in his bed. He placed an arm
around Yuugi, and gave him a comforting hug. “Aibou,
you are never alone,” he said softly “Huh?
What do you mean by that?” Yuugi asked, his voice shaking
slightly. Atemu
broke the hug and placed a comforting hand on Yuugi’s shoulder.
“Haven’t you listened to any of Anzu’s speeches these past few
years? All of us share a special bond of friendship, which can never
be broken. This means that we’re never truly alone. Our friends are
always with us, in our heart. They will always be in your
heart, aibou. So no matter where we all are in the world, we will
always be there for one another…” And
as if on queue, Yuugi felt his hand begin to tingle. He looked down
and saw that lines on the back of his hand were glowing. But these
weren’t any ‘normal’ lines (if you could call glowing lines on
the back of your hand normal). When Yuugi duelled against Kaiba, and
his friends couldn’t be there to watch him and support him since
they had to take Yuugi’s grandfather to the hospital, Anzu had
drawn on a smiley face on Yuugi’s, Jou’s, Honda’s and her own
hand to represent their friendship and the bond they share. The ink
many have worn off long ago, but their friendship was as strong as
ever. And it was these lines that were glowing now. As
Yuugi watched the lines emit a soft glow, he felt his friends’
presence all around him. Atemu was right. His friends were always
with him. A smile appeared on his face. “You’re
right, Mou Hitori no Boku,” he said happily. “How could I forget
about the bond we all share? Thank you for reminding
me.” “Anytime
aibou,” said Atemu. A small ray of light slowly began to grow
brighter and bigger appearing behind him. It was time. He stood up
and took a few steps back. “But it’s time for me to go.” “Go?”
asked a shocked Yuugi, trying to protect his eyes from the
ever-increasing light. “But you just got here! How come you have to
go?” “Because
I am only allowed to stay in this world for a short amount of time,”
answered Atemu. His spirit began to float away up the ray of light.
“And there are things I must do before my time is
up.” “B-But…will
I ever see you again?” Yuugi pleaded. He had just got his old
friend back. He didn’t want him to leave just yet. Not this
soon. “Don’t
worry aibou,” Atemu reassured. His spirit had almost completely
disappeared. “Our paths will cross again. But there is one thing I
must do before I say goodbye, or rather something I must
say.” “Huh?
What’s that?” “Merry
Christmas!” Atemu laughed. Yuugi
was confused. It wasn’t Christmas yet, it was still Christmas eve,
wasn’t it? He looked at his clock. 00:05am. So it was Christmas
day! He laughed slightly. “Same
to you. Thank you…for everything.” “Anytime
aibou. Goodbye.” The
light continued to grow brighter, until it was too much for Yuugi’s
eyes to handle. He used his arms to shield his eyes from the blinding
light. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the light disappeared. He
looked around his now dark room. He couldn’t see Atemu anywhere. He
really was gone. He looked out of his window at the night sky, and
saw that the bright star was still there, shinning
away. “Goodbye…Mou
Hitori no Boku…” -I- Anzu
bolted up in her bed with a scream, panting, cold sweat dripping from
her body. All was quiet in her hotel room, apart from her own heavy
breathing. ‘Oh
man, that was the worst dream ever! But it felt so real. I hope it
was just a dream.
Yuugi can’t leave me. Not yet. I’ve already lost Mou Hitori no
Yuugi…I mean, Atemu…I can’t lose him too! I just can’t!
Huh?’ Just
then, Anzu felt a strange tingle from her hand. She looked down, and
saw that the lines that represented the friendship bond were glowing.
But that wasn’t all. Even though she could sense all her friends,
one seemed to be calling out to her. “Yuugi!”
she screamed once she figured out who it was. “Oh Yuugi, I hope
you’re OK. Hey!…What the?…What’s going on!” Anzu
used her arms to protect her eyes from the sudden blinding light that
was shinning into her room. But soon the light started to fade away,
and as Anzu looked up she saw a figure standing in the middle of the
light. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat
as she recognised who it was. “Atemu!” -I- Jonouchi
gasped and bolted up in his bed. ‘Oh
man, what a horrible dream, but, why did it feel so real? Did…Did
Honda have a dream similar to this? He was mumbling in his sleep
earlier. And stranger things have happened to us these past few
years…’ Jonouchi
looked around the room he and Honda were sharing to see if his friend
was awake. He sighed as if annoyed once he saw where he
was. Honda
had fallen out of bed-again-and was now in an interesting position on
the floor. Jonouchi, not wanting to wake his sister in the next room
about a weird dream, decided to wake Honda up instead. He wouldn’t
mind. Honda kept him up during the night anyway with his
snoring. “Honda…hey,
Honda…” he said whilst poking him in the arm. “Are you awake
bud?” “…Gmpf…”
came Honda’s sleepy reply. Jonouchi
continued to try and wake him up. “Hey Honda…wake up…Honda…WAKE
UP!” Honda
suddenly awoke, bolting up from where he was sleeping with a loud
yell. This sudden reaction caused Jonouchi to scream too. Once the
screaming was over, the shouting began. “MAN!
WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!” Jonouchi yelled at Honda. “ME!”
Honda yelled back. “You were the one POKING ME!” “OK
OK! Calm down!” said Jonouchi, regaining control of his anger. “We
don’t want to wake up Shizuka now, do we?” “You
were the one who started yelling,” Honda muttered to himself.
Jonouchi ignored this comment. An
uncomfortable silence fell between the two friends. A cloud shifted
position in the sky, allowing the moonlight to shine through into the
room. “So…why
did you want to wake me up?” Honda asked after a few minutes had
passed. “I
had a dream…a really scary dream,” Jonouchi replied. “A
dream? About what?” “Yuugi.” “Yuugi?” “Hai.
I dreamt that he was walking through some sort of portal, into the
Shadow Realm. I tried calling out to him, but when he looked at me…he
looked depressed…lonely and empty. He wouldn’t listen to me! He
walked straight into that damn portal into the
darkness!” Jonouchi
clenched his fists to control his emotions. Honda looked at him, then
sighed heavily. “I
had the same dream,” he said after a while. “Only Yuugi was
walking off a cliff into a dark void. You know what I think? I think
that Yu-…er…what the hell is this?” Honda
stared at his hand. Lines had started to glow on the
back. “Er…Jou…are
you seeing this?” Honda asked, completely freaked out. “Yeah
Honda, I’m seeing!” replied Jonouchi, whose hand also hand
glowing lines on the back. “Can you feel that too?” “Yeah,
it’s Yuugi.” “Man,
I hope he’s alright…AH!…WHAT’S GOING ON NOW!” Both
teens covered their eyes as a bright light suddenly began shinning
onto the room. But as suddenly as it appeared, the light died away.
As Honda and Jonouchi looked up, they saw a figure dressed in an
Egyptian Pharaoh’s attire standing before them. Both jaws hit the
floor simultaneously. “Atemu?”
they both gasped as the figure before them became clearer. The
Pharaoh smiled down at his friends. “Jonouchi,
Honda, we need to talk,” he said sternly. “Why
does all this weird stuff happen to us?” Jonouchi
groaned. -I- The
sun shone through Yuugi’s window, lighting up his room, and causing
him to awake. Slowly, he sat up in bed, stretched, and wiped the
sleep away from his eyes. He looked out of his window, the events of
last night still vivid in his mind. Did Atemu really visit him last
night? Or was it all just a dream? It seemed real enough. Well,
whatever it was, it seemed to have cheered him up. Yuugi
looked at his clock. 9am on 25th December. Christmas Day. He jumped
out of bed and quickly got dressed in his black, sleeveless top, blue
jacket and blue pants, with his belt around his waist. As soon as he
was dressed, he rushed downstairs into the dinning room. He may be
19, but that doesn’t mean that he was too old for presents on
Christmas Day. He was still a child at heart. As
he entered the dinning room he saw that his grandfather had made him
a special breakfast for Yuugi and himself. Yuugi noticed a small pile
of presents under the Mutou’s Christmas tree and immediately the
familiar excitement of opening presents filled his heart. “Wow
jii-chan!” Yuugi gasped happily. “Did you do all of this?” “The
breakfast, yes,” replied Sugoroku. “But most of the presents came
in the mail, although one of them is from me.” He gave his grandson
a wink. A
large grin appeared on Yuugi’s face. So his friend’s hadn’t
forgotten him. This was great! (Though he should’ve known better.)
Things were starting to look up. “Well,
what are you waiting for?” Sugoroku asked as his grandson was just
standing their, drooling over the presents before him. “They’re
not going to open themselves. Open them!” “HAI!”
shouted Yuugi as he dived into the presents. Yuugi
couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled this much. Since his
friends had left town, he had been depressed and lonely, but thanks
to Atemu last night, all the sadness had disappeared. Yuugi
received some great gifts that morning, and loved them all! His
grandfather had given him his own set of archaeology brushes and
tools. Considering that he was due to go on another dig next month,
this proved to be a very useful gift. Jonouchi
and Honda sent Yuugi their presents in the mail. Honda had made a
photo album full of pictures of them all together. Jonouchi gave him
some ultra rare Duel Monster cards, including one that looked like he
had made it himself. Anzu, too, sent Yuugi a present. She sent him a
new shirt (which she had made herself). It was similar to the one
that he always wore, apart from the fact that this one that the
symbol of the Sennen items on the front, and the words ‘King of
Games’ printed on the back. Yuugi loved it so much, he put it on
straight away. Yuugi
spent the rest of the day relaxing. The shop was closed, so he had
nothing important to do. He called up various relatives to wish them
a ‘Merry Christmas’, along with his friends. However, when he
tried to call Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda, he found he could not. But
Yuugi didn’t give this a second thought. It was Christmas after
all. They were bound to be spending it with their family, so were too
busy to pick up their phones…right? Later
that evening, as the sun was just starting to set, the phone rang.
Yuugi, who was going through his deck at the time, quickly jumped up
from where he was sitting and went to pick it up, only to find that
it stopped ringing as soon as he got to the phone. “Oh,
jii-chan must’ve picked it up,” he said to himself, “I’d
better go and see who it is.” Yuugi
collected his cards, and put them in his deck pouch attached to his
belt. He then made his way downstairs. He found his grandfather on
the phone in the living room. It sounded like the conversation was
just finishing. “Hai…No
he doesn’t…City Halls…7pm…Hai, I’ll make sure he’s
there…OK, thank you for calling…You too…goodbye!” Sugoroku
hung up. “Who
was that, jii-chan?” asked Yuugi as his grandfather put the phone
back on the receiver. “AH!
Yuugi!” screamed Sugoroku, jumping back. “You almost gave me a
heart attack!” “Sorry
jii-chan,” Yuugi laughed. “But who was that on the phone?” “On
the phone?…err…well…it was…a-a-a duellist!” “A
duellist?” Yuugi cocked an eyebrow. “Hai!
That’s right! A duellist! He…er…wants to duel you…tonight!”
Sugoroku starting pushing Yuugi towards the door. “He said to meet
him at City Halls at 7pm, so that gives you 15 minutes to get there.
You’d better get a move on!” “OK
OK, I will! You can stop pushing me now!” said Yuugi as he tried to
stop his grandfather. Once he had managed to get away from his grasp,
he grabbed his duel disk and jacket and walked out the door, giving
his grandfather a strange look. He was acting very weird. As
soon as Sugoroku heard the door close, he sighed heavily in
relief. “Phew!
That was a close one. I almost gave away the surprise. Yuugi’s sure
going to be surprised as soon as he arrives at city halls! He
he! -I- Yuugi
was glad that he was outside. It may have been freezing cold, but by
the looks of the clouds that were starting to come over, it was about
to snow. As he walked down the streets, his thoughts came to his
grandfather. He was acting very strange after that phone call. Yuugi
knew his grandfather was up to something, but what? As
he turned the corner, Yuugi noticed a large group of people that
gathered on the other side of the road. By the looks of it, they
seemed to gathered around some sort of celebrity, for there were
flashing cameras everywhere, and people running up with pen and paper
in their hands. There were various shouts of ‘can you sign this
please?’ and ‘can you pose for a picture for my daughter?’ Yuugi
tried to see who the celebrity was, but found that he could only just
see the very top of their head, due to the tall group of people. From
what he could see however, was that the celebrity seemed to have
brown hair. “I
haven’t got time to play ‘guess the celeb’” Yuugi said as he
started to walk away. He looked at his watch. “I’ve only got 5
minutes to get to the duel.” Upon seeing the time, Yuugi quicken
his pace towards his destination. A
few minutes later, Yuugi arrived at City Halls with one minute to
spare. As he climbed the steps to the main entrance, he thought that
this was a strange place to hold a duel. City Halls were usually used
for large meetings, or people could rent out one of the halls inside
for a large party. Why did someone want to duel him there? Yuugi
came to the front doors, and opened them, walking inside. Strange
that they were unlocked. Did his opponent rent out one of the halls
just for this one duel? It
was pitch black inside. Yuugi couldn’t see a thing. He called out
into the darkness, hoping that someone would answer him. No one did.
After standing there for about another minute hoping that his
opponent would show up, whoever they were, Yuugi gave up. He was
about to turn around and leave, when the lights suddenly came
on. “Surprise!
Merry Christmas Yuugi!” various voices shouted happily. Yuugi’s
eyes soon got used to the light, and when he looked up, he couldn’t
help but gasp. Gathered
in the brightly decorated hall-complete with a ‘Merry Christmas
Everyone’ banner- were all his friends: Mai, Ryou, Seto (though
Yuugi had a feeling that Mokuba had something to do with this),
Otogi, Shizuka, his grandfather (though how he got there before he
did Yuugi did not know), everyone was there. But even though he was
happy to see them all, he was happier to see the two people walking
up to him. “Hey
there pal!” exclaimed Jonouchi. “What’s
up buddy?” asked Honda as the pair stopped in front of their best
friend. “Jonouchi!
Honda! You’re here!” said Yuugi, teary eyes. He embraced his two
best friends with a friendly hug. “But how?…Why?…” “You
didn’t think we’d let you celebrate Christmas on your own, did
you?” said Honda, winking at Jonouchi. “Yeah,”
said the blonde, returning the wink. “We couldn’t let you have
all the fun, or food!” “Whatever,”
laughed Yuugi, “I’m just so glad that you’re here.” Jonouchi
smiled down at his best friend. ‘Good old Atemu. Thanks for
reminding me and Honda about being a good friend to
Yuugi.’ “Me
too Yuugi. Now, lets get this party started!” -I- The
party was well underway and everyone was enjoying themselves,
especially Yuugi. He had to admit, this was one of the best parties
he’d ever been to. Everyone was laughing, dancing, and generally
having a good time. Even Seto seemed to be having a good time, even
though he tried very hard to cover it up. But as Yuugi looked around
the hall, he felt that something, or rather someone was
missing. Anzu No
party was complete without her. Yuugi wished so much that she was
here. But he knew deep down that she couldn’t. After all, she was
in America. She couldn’t exactly drop everything and travel all the
way to Japan for one party. Plus by the time she landed in Domino the
party would be over anyway. This only depressed Yuugi more. Yuugi
soon snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He looked up to see Jonouchi and Honda looking very smug. “Yuugi,
can you come outside with us for a moment?” Honda asked “Yeah,
we…er…got to show you something,” said Jonouchi as he started
to push Yuugi towards the door. “Err…sure
guys…” Yuugi answered, feeling that he didn’t have any
choice. Even
though Yuugi agreed to go with them, Jonouchi and Honda still
continued to push him towards the door, as if they wanted him outside
as quickly as possible. ‘Strange. They’re acting as strange as
grandpa was earlier. What are they up to?’ When
the 3 teens finally got outside, the two tallest boys of the trio
were quick to make sure that the doors were closed behind them. Yuugi
stood there watching his friends, arms crossed, his foot tapping
slightly. “OK
guys, what are you up to?” he asked. “Nani?
Us?” Jonouchi said innocently, “This wasn’t our idea.” “Hai,”
said Honda, signalling to someone behind Yuugi to come forward. “It
was all her idea.” Honda
pointed to someone behind Yuugi. Confused, Yuugi turned around and
saw the last person he expected to see. “Anzu?” “Hi
Yuugi,” Anzu spoke softly as she stepped forward. Yuugi
starting walking towards Anzu, as if he was in a dream. He couldn’t
believe it. Anzu was here, right in front of him. It was as if all
his wishes had come true. “I
can’t believe you’re here,” said Yuugi, teary eyed (once
again). He stopped in front of Anzu and saw that she, too, had tears
in her eyes. “But why are you in Japan? I thought you were in
America.” “I
was,“ Anzu replied. “But you remember when I said in my last
letter that I was to star in this big show? Well, it turns out that
the show is right here in Domino!” “O-Oh”
was all the Yuugi said, disappointed. He had expected her to say
something else. ‘I guess that explains the group of people
earlier. That must’ve been Anzu they were crowded
around.’ Honda
eyed the pair curiously from near the hall doors. He knew what was
coming next. “Hey
Jou,” whispered Honda. “Maybe we should leave them alone for a
while.” “Yeah,
good point,” Jonouchi whispered back, slowly creeping backwards.
“Lets leave them to ‘catch up’” Honda
sniggered at Jonouchi’s remark. Then he and Jonouchi snuck inside,
making sure to close the doors quickly and quietly behind
them. “Hey
guys, where’s Yuugi?” asked Ryou, making Jonouchi and Honda
jump. “Oh…er…he’s
outside with…a…special gift!” stuttered Jonouchi, before he and
Honda darted away. Ryou
watched them walking away, both of them snickering loudly. Even
though he was slightly confused, and worried (why was Yuugi
out in the cold?), Ryou put it in the back of his mind, and continued
to enjoy the party. After all, his favourite Christmas song had just
started playing. -I- Anzu
sensed Yuugi’s disappointment, and knew that she had blown it.
‘Great job Anzu. Now what are you going to do? Atemu told you
that Yuugi was unhappy, and you’ve just gone and made things
worse…hey! I know what to do!’ “You
know Yuugi,” said Anzu softly, moving closer to Yuugi. “That
wasn’t the only reason I came back.” “It
wasn’t?” asked Yuugi. His and Anzu’s faces began to move closer
and closer together, his body acting on it’s own. “Iie.
There was something else I had to do. Something very important…”
Their faces were now inches apart, the gap continuing to
close. “Really?
And what would that be?” Yuugi’s
question was soon answered when Anzu placed her lips on top of his
own. Yuugi was a little surprised at first, but he quickly got over
the shock and kissed her back. Their first kiss, right under the
stars in the night sky. As their kiss deepen, Yuugi wrapped his arms
around Anzu’s waist. Anzu reacted by placing her arms around
Yuugi’s neck, pulling him closer to her body… Unfortunately,
they soon had to break the kiss due to a lack of oxygen. “Wow…”
was all that Yuugi could say “Hai…wow,”
said Anzu. She smiled dreamily. “You don’t know how long I’ve
been wanting to do that Yuugi. And you don’t know how long I’ve
been wanting to say…I love you Yuugi…” Did
he hear right? Did Anzu just say she loved him? Him? Yuugi Mutou?
Suddenly, the world seemed a better place to live. “I
love you too Anzu,” Yuugi said dreamily. He stroked Anzu’s soft
hair away from her eyes. “For as long as I can remember, and I know
exactly how you feel.” Anzu
laughed slightly. She reached out for Yuugi’s hand, and held it
with her own. The two looked at each other, feeling as if they were
on cloud nine, until the music from the hall dragged them both back
down to earth. Plus it had started to snow. “Do
you want to go inside and see everyone?” asked Yuugi, giving Anzu’s
hand a comforting squeeze. “Sure,
why not?” said Anzu, returning the squeeze. “As long as my first
dance is with you.” Yuugi
smiled at Anzu. He must be the happiest guy in the world. He and Anzu
were together, all his friends were here…well, almost all of
them. Yuugi
looked up at the night sky, careful not to get snow in his eyes, as
he and Anzu walked back towards the hall. He smiled when he saw a
shooting star fly across the sky. ‘Thank
you, Mou Hitori no Boku. I don’t know how you did it, but thanks
for bringing my friends back. I just wish you could be here with us.
Goodbye, my friend.’ -I- As
Yuugi and Anzu walked towards the hall, Atemu watched them from the
sky, a smile on his face. “Anytime
aibou. I am always happy to help. But this is not goodbye, for we
will meet again. Sooner than you think…” -I-
The End
Chapter Two
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Kazuki Takahashi