章 78: To Kill A Friend (Part 4)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

As they reached the Game Shop, Satiah got out when it came to a stop. She went to the front and input the code.

"Hang on." Atem called out as he left the limo too. He went to the door as well. "I am sure Yuugi is still up in his bed. He worries. Give it a minute before you go in the second door."

Satiah opened the door and went inside. Standing in the shop, all by herself. ///Satiah: Anzu./// She went toward the stairs, and like Atem predicted, Yuugi had just opened the door.

"Everything is okay," Atem comforted him.

"Bakura." Yuugi nodded at him. They must have had a conversation between each other.

She moved past Yuugi though when she felt Anzu's presence. "Anzu."

"Satiah? Are you okay?" Anzu went toward her. "What is it?"

///Satiah: My friend. This energy in me. It's making his evil tendencies come back. I can't be around Bakura anymore./// Anzu went to her, giving her a hug. ///Satiah: I'm okay. Just a little longer. I'm sorry if I worried you, but I didn't want to miss the chance to play with my friend.///

"I understand." Anzu let her go. "Come on, you can sleep with me. I have a double bed."

///Satiah: Yes, I know you do./// Did she screw up and let Yuugi back in those covers again? She went into Anzu's room. ///Satiah: Are you sure it's clean?///

///Anzu: It's fine, I didn't do anything with Yuugi again. Well? I mean. A little kissing in the moment, but that's it. Things are complicated. Things are always complicated.///

//Satiah: You have no idea.///

"Get some rest ladies," Yuugi offered from the doorway. "We'll be opening late tomorrow. If even." He closed their door for them.

Meanwhile, Atem and him both strolled to his room.

"I couldn't do too much tonight for it. It's got that feel of spare room, but I'm sure you can fix it up yourself," Yuugi said. "There's not a real big rush to get up early. This was pretty late, Atem."

"Yes it was but necessary," Atem said.

"Did you win the game?" Yuugi asked. "Did you win your energy back?"

"I won, but it wasn't a shadow game. She can't use the power in herself, she is her own container. The power is explosive but limited when put in use." Atem explained about Bakura as well as the date. "I'm glad I backed off. It wasn't right."

"I'm glad too. It wouldn't be right to kill an innocent person, Atem."

"She needs to stay near. Bakura now knows of her power." It was tearing her apart, but she was keeping it together. "The only thing she knows of in her past is Bakura."

"What?" Yuugi seemed shocked. "I thought she knew her whole past?"

"No Yuugi, only what she knows from her time with Bakura. He revealed that. Everything else is jumbled in her head. She still doesn't realize she left the afterlife either," Atem revealed. "Away from Bakura, that's it. The rest is facts she learned while riding with him."

"Oh. I always assumed she kept to herself or hid something from Anzu. She was real quiet. Mostly only came out when we played games. So, she really didn't remember everything."

"Besides that scoundrel Bakura, she is the only one who has experienced what I have gone through. It's not all the same, no one is the same, but . . ." It helped. Getting a body back and being clueless as to how or why anything worked. It was a little easier to endure, when someone else felt it too.

"Oh. Oh, that's right." It just dawned on Yuugi. "You guys have had similar experiences. You have someone you can talk to that understands sides no one else ever will know."

Of course Yuugi picked it up, but the conversation was spinning away. "Rest is important. I really need it now." Atem never thought he'd have to say that as his mouth released something it hadn't in a long time. A yawn. "Goodnight." He got pulled into another yawn.

"Yep, rest catches up to us all," Yuugi said. "We'll talk about things tomorrow. Night, Atem. I'll finish working on a list of friends tomorrow for Anzu." Yuugi left.

Atem climbed into the covers. Oh, this felt enjoyable. Natural rest. Not a rest from battle, or a rest near the end of death. Rest due to natural tiredness. He enjoyed the sensation of the blankets he was in. Often he didn't feel them. Yuugi needed his rest, not Atem bothering his body. Now, Atem needed rest.

No concern about whether he should rest or not. How long he should rest. No concern about what he should be doing with his body, what his responsibility was to it. It was his. His only concern?

What was coming, that gave all this back to him?

----

Yuugi got up at six with only four hours of sleep. It was hard to sleep, and he wanted to see who he could locate. So far, he had found Kajiki. Easy, he got up earlier for the fish. He of course got Jounouchi and Mai who were more than happy to help find others. It almost seemed like he had everyone.

Was there anyone else? Oh yeah! Whoah? Um. Wow. Yuugi suddenly felt a little . . . ashamed. How did that happen? One minute, he was starting to really hang out with him, and then the next? ///Yuugi: How long did we hang out?///

Yuugi dribbled his pencil, trying to think. He had always been friends with Anzu, although they had a small ripple during the middle of their school years, they became close friends again. Then Jounouchi. It was Anzu and Jounouchi. Honda didn't really begin being friends with Yuugi until after him. ///Yuugi: Yeah, we used to hang out together. We went over to his house once and saw his whole Zombire collection./// Oh yeah, now he remembered. ///Yuugi: His dad actually tried to pay us just to keep hanging out with him. That was terrible, like we would ever expect payment to hang out with a friend. Then again? We did stop hanging out with him. Why did we stop hanging out with him? He even cared enough to watch out for grandpa in the hospital!///

Yes. Why didn't he remember that? They were so close at one point, it felt like they would end up being closer friends instead of him and Honda. Honda was still a bully to him, but was getting to know him only because Jounouchi hung out with him.

Yeah, he was their friend. ///Yuugi: He was weaker. Kind but so pale. Fragile, even to me back then. He got beat up by that bully because of me taking his tickets to sell and . . . "Hanasake."

That's right. His name was Tomoyo Hanasake. Yuugi put his pencil down. "Why am I only remembering him now?"

-------

Another spot in Domino City . . .

Tomoyo Hanasake was making the last of his notes. He slid his glasses up as he closed his book. "Tomorrow." He grabbed his book and moved away from his chair. He went down his personal stairs over to his most secure safe.

He looked at his book. "Almost. Tomorrow the world will change forever." He spun the combination on his safe. 99, 06, 12, 00. "Critical." He always loved saying it after he opened the safe. Monster World used to be a fun game to play. In another lifetime anyhow. Or? More like in another life.

He placed the sacred book inside of it. The millennium tome. "Tomorrow."

///Hanasake: Please no. Someone end this.///

"Tomorrow," Hanasake repeated. No one would know it was coming. "It will be the start of a better world."

///Hanasake: No! No, no, no!///

"Don't fight it, Hanasake," Hanasake said. "I'll take care of everything and everyone you hold dear, like I have been. No worries. Everything will be wonderful. I'm just sorry that you won't be here to see it, but your chattering in the back of my mind is just too much anymore. I tried. Tomorrow, it's over, but it won't be painful. I don't think. You are closer to a spirit than I am anymore," he chuckled. "It'll be fine, it'll feel like your just moving. I have one game to play, and then I'll kiss your children and wife goodnight for you. See you in the next life." Hanasake held his head. That infernal screaming. Was it any wonder that he had to get rid of him?

Such a silly man. It wasn't like it was the end of the world.

It was a new beginning.