The sounds of Yugi's violent retching from upstairs, tore apart what little heart Atem had left in his chest. This was exactly the reason why he had been so reluctant to tell the boy of his past, he had feared this very reaction. He had seen the fear in Yugi's eyes just before he made a mad dash for the stairs, had seen the disgust in the once welcoming and warm violet.

"Atem," Shaiya spoke from where she sat.

"I know..." he replied, not even needing to hear what she had to say to know what it was.

It was obvious what he had to do now, now that Yugi knew and given his reaction, the vampire had to leave again and wipe away any traces that he still existed in the world...including Yugi's memory of him and his sister. He couldn't afford to take the chance that the teen would accidentally slip and tell something he shouldn't as he knew the boy wouldn't do it on purpose and even if that wasn't a risk, he couldn't bear the thought of the teen walking around with that weight on his shoulders.

The fact of knowing vampires existed was quite a secret to keep in and of itself, but to know one of said vampires was a Pharaoh that remained nameless and a complete mystery to the rest of the world and that said former Pharaoh had done something so monstrous was too much for one boy to take, he would definitely crack under the oppressing pressure of the secret he would be forced to keep if left without his memory being wiped.

"There are bags of blood in a mini refrigerator in the kitchen, Shaiya. Will you get those and wipe the memory of the old man and anyone who sees you?" he asked with his head down, as he stood and faced the stairs, his eyes shadowed.

"It will be done brother," she replied softly, showing her sympathetic side that only he ever got to see now.

"Thank you, I will take care of Yugi..."

The Japanese teen wiped his mouth as he raised his head again, not daring to look down into the bowl of the porcelain toilet for fear he would just start vomitting all over again as he reached up to the flusher and pushed it down, panting to catch his breath from the stress that his vomiting had put on his stomach and lungs. He had expected gory details in Atem's telling of his past, had thought he was prepared for them, but nothing could have prepared him for what he had just learned.

Atem had gone through so much, been forced to live through so much... He had witnessed the death of his husband by a vampire, held him in his arms until his dying breath left his lungs only to be ripped away from him by the same vampire. If that wasn't bad enough, he knew as well as the former Pharaoh that he should have died that night and would have, had the guards not swarmed into the room and attacked the creature, thus making a spray of blood fill the air, some of the substance going into the monarch's mouth and thus turning him...

But the thing that took the cake... The poor guy had woken up to find that he had brutally murdered everyone that had been in the room at the time, very nearly killing his own sister as well, but turning her in an act of desperation.

He sighed, wiping his mouth again as he stood up from the cold tile floor and walked over to the sink, turning on the tap and washing his hands before cupping some water into his hands and rinsing his mouth out to get the sickening taste out, allowing his mind to wonder once again as he did.

As Atem had told the tale, Yugi had practically seen the whole thing play out before his very eyes, seen it almost as vividly as if he were there or he had a direct link to Atem's mind and was seeing his memories like they were his own...maybe that was it, the mind link between them. Perhaps the memories of the past took such a toll on him that he wasn't able to keep his side firmly shut like he usually would be able to...and all things considered, he didn't blame him at all if that was the case.

As the Japanese teen stood up straight, looking at himself in the mirror, he nearly spat the water in his mouth at the reflective surface at the look on his face. His eyes were wider than normal, lines of worry and apprehension on his face, his eyes a much darker purple than they usually were...

Was this the way he looked before he went racing up the stairs?

If it was then what could Atem be thinking right at that very moment?

Knowing him and his worrying, probably that he was scared or some other nonsense, but either way, he had to clear it up now before the vampire did something drastic. He had promised not to leave him, but if Atem thought he was afraid of him, he most likely would.

He bent down, spitting the water from his mouth at that and turned around, wiping his mouth with his hand again, but nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the very same man he had just been thinking of standing there and staring at him intently. The startled action caused a look of pain to cross the other male's mostly calm features for all of a second before it was wiped away again and he was back to expressionless, reminding Yugi of how he had been when they had first met.

He does think I'm afraid of him!

Panic set in as he tried to read Atem's face and eyes, trying to find what he was hiding from him, but having no luck and the panic in his heart only grew when it became clear the vampire could hear the racing organ and it took it completely wrong, but with each realization, Yugi couldn't get his heart to slow, it raced on harder and harder.

"Atem, I.."

"Forgive me, ahku," Atem spoke softly, the only real display of emotion coming through by the crack in his tone before he suddenly had his hands on both of Yugi's cheeks, an action that would make the boy blush any other time, but only worried him more now.

The teen was about to reply, to tell him he had nothing to be sorry for, but a sudden pressure in his head as he stared up into darkened scarlet had his words dying in his throat. Atem had told him of vampire powers and had warned him of what to look for when mind manipulation or memory removal or placement was taking place. There was always pressure.

Which meant!

"Atem, do-"

But his world went black before he could finish what he was saying, a single tear leaving his now closed eyes as he fell forward into Atem's waiting arms, unconscious and unaware.

Atem took a shaky breath as the memory removal completed itself and carefully lifted Yugi up bridal style as he carried the unconscious teen to his room and laid him gently on the bed, planting false memories in his head after of how he would have gotten there to begin with.

He knew what the teen was about to say, but thought that Yugi was afraid he was about to have his mind manipulated into being a vampire puppet, misunderstanding the racing of his heart that had thankfully calmed down now and the fear in his eyes.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Yugi. I wish I had never made that promise to tell you," he said softly, his expression a lot more soft, and even sorrowful now as he leaned down. "You won't remember me, rest easy little one," he added, planting a soft and loving, but brief kiss to the teen's forehead before standing and leaving the room.

He found Shaiya waiting for him downstairs in the den, grandpa Moto passed out on the sofa and the television on and sighed sadly as he walked toward her, both of them exchanging a look of silent understanding before a shadow portal opened and they stepped through, the portal closing right behind them.

They made several trips that night, erasing the memory of Yugi's friends as well. Yugi hadn't told them anything about him being a vampire, but just as Atem had feared, had told them he had a friend over and if his friends were to mention that "friend" they had heard of, it could trigger Yugi's memories into returning and that was a chance that he wasn't willing to take.

When morning broke over Domino City, Japan, young Yugi Moto awoke, a pain so great in his heart that it made his hand fly to his chest, and clench in the material of his shirt over the area.

"What was that about?" he asked himself when the pain slightly subsided.

The pain never left, it hurt worse and worse everyday upon waking, his heart becoming more and more hallow by the day, and leaving him more confused each time, but eventually he got used to it, not even worrying about it anymore.

"Yug!"

The teen turned with a smile, said smile growing when Joey ran up to him and took him in a headlock, Tea and Tristan laughing about it as they caught up and making the teen pout cutely.

"Hey, leggo of me!" he whined.

"Ya know I gotta pick on ya Yug why fight it?" Joey snickered before the whole group continued on the way to the Kame Game Shop, none of them seeing the two figures on the roof above them watching the entire thing play out.

"Are you satisifed now brother?" the more petite figure asked, turning to the taller and recieving a nod in reply.

Satisfied with that answer, the smaller turned and jumped from the roof, going through a shadow portal that appeared on the ground at the back of the shop and leaving the other who sat smiling as he watched the group of friends until they were out of sight.

"Take care aibou..." he said softly, before he followed his sister's example, the portal closing behind him.

~End~

AC: Well that's it everyone, I hope you enjoyed the story, but we've officially reached the end~

Heba, Yugi, and Atem: WHHHAAATTT?!

AC: -Flinches.- Hey, I never said that's the end of it all!

Atem: Meaning? -Glares.-

AC: Meaning this is only the first installment, book one if you will.

Yugi: Oh, that makes sense, because originally this was supposed to just be a short story.

Heba: That's tolerable...I guess..

Atem: If you don't take forever to get book two out that is!

AC: -Hides from muses and readers, whimpering from where she's hunkered down.- I won't I promise!

Yugi: -Looks pleadingly to the readers.- Please review, the more feedback the sooner we'll come back~ I want my vampire!

AC: You heard the boy. -Raises up and winks.- Thank you for reading Darker Than Black book 1 I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it, please be looking out for book 2 coming soon~

Heba: AC does not own Yugioh or any of us.

Atem: She does not make any profit from this fanfiction.