Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Bonds that Bind Us ❯ I Will Be Here ( Chapter 1 )

Toboe LoneWolf: *waves* Hi everybody! This is a fic to counter to all those angsty song-fics out there. I dunno what people are listening to, but sheesh they're depressing. So this is a fic that celebrates the bond between the YGO gang: yami/hikari, the fellowship of yamis/hikaris, etc. In this fic, yamis and hikaris will always be together at the end. Period. Sometimes this will be AU (remember that), sometimes not. With that done...onto the fic!

//...// is a yami to a hikari; /.../ is a hikari to a yami, italics are the song lyrics

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO or the song "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I Will Be Here

Seven-year old Yugi pasted his head and tiny hands against the window, frantically peering through the cold glass. Where was the sun? There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but neither was the sun. Every morning Yugi would wake up to the sun but today it was gone. Not dark, not cloudy, not rainy, but really truly gone. The friendly face that Yugi looked up to was hidden, or late, or maybe -- Yugi gulped -- even eaten up.

//Yugi? What is wrong?//

"Where did the sun go? I can't find it!"

//Little one, it's always there.//

"Huh?"

//The sun will come back, Yugi. It always does.//

"Okay..."

Yugi stared out the window, frosting the glass with his breath. That funny voice inside of him said the sun was still there, but...

//And even if the sun does not return, little one...I am still here.//

Yugi absently nodded, rubbing the Puzzle that hung around his neck. It was large on him; a present he had finally figured out about a year ago. Yugi liked the shiny golden color and liked to pretend it had special powers. Fingering the string around his neck, Yugi wondered if maybe his Puzzle could bring the sun back.

Then all of a sudden, the sun burst into view, emerging from behind the moon as if playing peek-a-boo with the little child. Yugi's eyes became as big as saucers.

"Oh lookit! I see it! It's over there!" Yugi jumped up and down. "I see it! I see it!"

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
And the sun does not appear,
I will be here.

Yami slumped onto the brick floor of his soul room, covering his head in his hands. Who am I? What was I? Yami whispered in the darkness. He had wandered these staircases and opened countless doors to find some answer, but to no avail. Yami groaned; he was nothing, a mere wisp of memory, and even that was pitiful...

/Hey Spirit!/

Yami opened his eyes. His aibou was calling him; something that was happening more frequently. //Yes?//

/Wanna try a burger?/

//Bur...ger? What is that?//

Yugi laughed. /Food, Spirit of the Puzzle. Good stuff./

Yami paused. //I do not know...// He didn't want to intrude on his aibou's friends. He just didn't know what to do -- all right, extremely uncomfortable. They were so outspoken, so eager, so happy...and Yami was not. He wasn't even anything...

Yugi suddenly appeared before Yami. "What's wrong, spirit?"

"It's nothing." Yami turned his head. "You go and enjoy your...burger." He didn't have any right to enjoy the world; he wasn't supposed to be here. At least, he shouldn't be...

Yugi cocked his head. "Are you going to start moping again?"

"What?"

Yugi smiled and held out a hand. "Come on, it's not so bad out there. I'll be there too." Yugi winked. "Burgers from Burger Palooza are the best."

Yami stared at the small, innocent hand stretching out towards him. I'll be there too. Yes, that was true. He had forgotten about that. Yugi was always there, and that was the reason why Yami was here. He reached up and clasped the young boy's hand. "Thank you, Yugi."

If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
'Cause I will be here.

A small, tiny tear ran down Yugi's cheek as he held onto his grandfather's hand. Cold, unresponsive, and pale. Eyes closed and unmoving, as if in a deep sleep. But Yugi knew better. One moment he was here, and the next...

...his soul was ripped apart.

Yugi sobbed and placed his head on top of his grandfather's chest. Why did Pegasus steal his soul? Grandpa had never done anything against him, didn't even know the man. It wasn't supposed to be that way... It was like Yugi had lost part of his heart.

"Why, Grandpa? Why? Why does everybody have to leave me? Mother, father...why?"

Yami tentatively reached out towards Yugi. For a long while, he had been quiet, letting Yugi be alone in his grief. But now, the child had sat next to his grandfather for nearly an hour, crying in fear and pain. Yami couldn't bear hearing his hikari in pain... //Yugi, I am still here.//

/Spirit?/

//I will always be here, little one. I will never leave you.//

/Really?/

//Really. Though your sorrow and your joy, through wins or losses, I will be here for you. If you ever need to speak to someone, I will be there.//

Yugi rubbed his nose. "Thanks, Spirit."

I will be here when you feel like being quiet;
When you need to speak your mind, I will listen.
And I will be here when the laughter turns to crying;
Through the winning, losing, and trying, we'll be together,
'Cause I will be here.

Yugi lay flat on his bed, not wanting to get out. He just didn't want to face today; didn't want to face the darker Malik; didn't want to see another one of his friends getting hurt. Yugi didn't think he could take it anymore. Duel Monsters used to be just a fun game, but now it was life or death. And he didn't want to risk his friends' lives anymore.

//Yugi? What's wrong?//

Yugi looked down at the Puzzle within his hands. "I just don't know what to do. Malik keeps getting darker and darker with every duel. What's going to happen to us, and to our friends? What am I going to do?"

Yami appeared out of the Puzzle. "What we always do. We stick together and defeat this evil."

Yugi peered up. "But can we do it? What if we fail? What if I fail?"

Yami cocked his head. "Yugi, the future is no more known to me as it is to you. I cannot foretell the entire future; not even the Millenium Tauk can divine that. All that we can do is take this one day at a time."

"But will we get through today?"

Yami smiled. "Well get up, hikari of light. We'll just have to find out. But I'll be with you as we step ahead."

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
And the future is unclear,
I will be here.

Yami wandered within his soul room. What would happen now? They had defeated Pegasus, they had hopefully gotten rid of the darker Malik, but now what would he do? Yami just didn't have a purpose anymore. What was the point of him being here anymore? He should have been dead long ago in Egypt.

/Yami?/

//Hmm?//

/Can we go now?/

Yami raised an eyebrow. //Go...where?//

/To fulfill our destiny, remember? Shadi said the three god cards and that tablet in the museum should unlock your destiny! Come on!/

//All right, all right...//

Yugi bounced off towards the Domino museum. Now they would finally figure out Yami's past! He smiled and walked a little faster. All of those hidden secrets would be revealed, and he'd really know who Yami was...

//Yugi...are you sure you want to do this?//

Yugi stopped in his tracks. /Why not?/

Yami hesitated to answer. //Well, I don't know what's going to happen. What if this doesn't work at all? What if you get hurt?//

Yugi grinned, resuming his walk. /Awww, come on, Yami. Our friends will be there too. Nothing's bad going to happen. Besides, this is your destiny! Don't you want to know your destiny?/

Yami was quiet. Then he burst out his single fear. //What if I have to leave you?//

Yugi stopped again, in front of the museum stairs. He didn't want to think of that. Yugi had said they'd always be together, but what if, indeed, destiny had a different idea? What if Yami had to leave Yugi's life forever? Yugi shuddered. It would be like losing half of his soul...

/I...I don't know, Yami./ Yugi paused, then took a deep breath. /But...times change. Everything changes./

//I know, aibou...but sometimes, I do not want things to change.// Yami said wistfully.

/Yeah, I like things the way they are too./ Yugi sighed, leaning on the guardrails. /But Yami, even if you do...leave, I'll always remember you./

//And I, of you.//

Silence, for a while. Then Yugi spoke through their bond, making a vow.

/And if you leave, I'll always be here. Even if an earthquake shakes down the whole city, I'll still be here, if you come back. Even if a tsunami floods Domino twenty meters high, I'll be right here. Even if a blizzard covers the entire city, I'll be here, waiting. Even if I live to be a hundred years old, I'll still be living in Domino so you can find me. I promise./ Yugi declared, clenching his fist.

//And if I must leave, I promise I'll spend a lifetime trying to come back to you. No, more than that, a lifetime of lifetimes.//

Yugi smiled, looking down at the Puzzle. /That's just about forever, isn't it?/

//Just about.//

As sure as seasons are made for change,
Our lifetimes are made for years,
So I will be here.

Yami took out the three god cards, staring down at them. Hard-won cards, all of them. The God of Osiris, the God of Obelisk, and the God of Ra. Each one won in a fierce duel, each one capable of leveling the earth. And the three together would unlock his destiny.

Destiny. It was a funny word. It meant that things were inevitable, that the person could not choose his own path. Yami slowly walked up to the carved stone figure of his ancient himself. So was he destined to do this, or was he making his own choice? Yami stopped in front of the stone tablet, looking for perhaps another way. But of course, there wasn't...

/Are you ready, Yami?/

//As ready as I'll ever be.// Yami held the three god cards in his hands. He paused, not acting just yet. //I just want you to know, Yugi, that if everything changes after this, you are still my hikari.//

Yugi appeared next to Yami, not wanting to be left in his soul room for what would happen in the next few moments. /I know. And you will always be mou hitori no boku to me, my other self./

Yami stared into the smooth glass incasing the stone tablet. He could see himself through the reflection, but Yugi was invisible. Yami worried for him; if he left, would Yugi become invisible again, hiding away from people and confrontation? Yami had tried to teach Yugi as much as possible, innately fearing for this day, when he might be taken away. Yami closed his eyes. There just wasn't enough time!

Yugi placed a hand on Yami's shoulders. /Yami, it's okay. I'm still here./

//But will you still be here?//

Yugi paused, gathering strength. Then he straightened up. /Yami, look at me./

Yami turned, surprised. //What is it, aibou?//

Yugi struggled to say what he meant in his heart. How can he take something from his soul and give it a visible meaning? Slowly, Yugi talked, growing momentum with each word, creating something from the hidden truths within his heart.

/Okay, so you might leave. Maybe not. Most likely we'll be changed forever and all that. But whatever happens, we'll be together, one way or the other. And if you leave, I know that you'll eventually return back to me, one way or the other. And we'll both look in the mirror and say we've both been fools to worry so much. We'll laugh and cry together again, and watch the sun set and fall, like it always does. I know it./

//Are you so sure?//

/Sure I'm sure!/ Yugi adamantly cried.

Yami smiled. //Of course. And when I return, back to the home I love best, it will be a welcoming to remember. I'll be there to watch you grow up, and I will tell you all of the things I did not have the time to say now.//

/That's right. So let's do it, shall we, mou hitori no boku?/

//Hai, aibou of hikaris.//

I will be here, and you can cry on my shoulder;
When the mirror tells us we're older, I will hold you.
And I will be here to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me;
I will be here.

Yami raised the three god cards to the stone tablet, offering them in exchange for unlocking his destiny. Yes, things would change, but as he knew in his heart, things would change for the better. As the light around them grew brighter and brighter around them, swirling in magic and mystery, Yami made one last vow.

//I will be here for you, hikari of my soul.//

/And I will be right here for you, mou hitori no boku, guide of my life./

And so the Winds of Change overtook them, changing their world forever.