Yami winced from the cold, harsh rains. He stood on the bridge, slung his arms over the bar, and let them dangle in the frigid air. The wind blew his jacket harshly, and tossed his hair into a wet, tangled mess. The boy shivered in the cold. He felt ashamed of himself, being overtaken by a mere icy wind. After all, he was usually the one to comfort, to save the day, not to stand sad in the rain.

~My day needs saving now...I can't live to these expectations.~ Yami looked at the cold, gray sky, from which was pouring rain. His blonde bangs clung to his face, and his tears were indistinguishable from the drops of rain that slid down his cheeks. They were flushed with red; his lips were pale; and his magenta eyes were bloodshot and scared.

~I comfort others when they're scared...but what happens when I'M scared? I feel as though I shouldn't even HAVE feelings...I can't cry or be scared or be sad or--~ Yami clenched his teeth as he ranted in his mind. He wanted to scream, to yell out what exactly he felt. But it couldn't be put in words.

~Afraid, lost, depressed, scared, isolated, alone...~ He rattled through meaningless words that barely told what he felt at the moment. He was lost deep inside that pit of darkness and isolation, like people have sometimes in their adolescent years. Lost, alone...like you've been sealed inside a barrier; invisible. You watch others lead somewhat "normal" lives, and you are ignored and un-noticed. You feel totally and completely helpless. You feel unwanted; afraid; alone. Yami felt unwanted; afraid; alone. He felt as though he were nothing; a mere toy in the complicated game of life.

Yami clutched the bar tightly. He had never imagined taking action on how he felt. Yami was debating with himself, and had nothing better to say at the moment. "Damn," he spat, "Damn it all."

The tormenting rain and gusty winds whipped him through a few minutes of debate; which felt like an eternity. But once the eternal few minutes had ended, another few minutes began, and felt like forever all over again.

Yami had no idea why he was lost in himself. But, all of a sudden, his aibou and other close friends seemed to have been torn away from him. He wanted to talk to them, but every time he tried, he would choke on his own words; or word; he would choke and lose his grip on a mere "Hi."

The boy's eyes began to swell, and he began to sob again. He stared blankly at the dim, gray sky, which was darkening into a cold, rainy night. He looked across the giant lake over a thousand feet below.

A tear; or a raindrop, he wasn't sure; slid down his nose and fell into the abyss. He watched the drop of water and compared himself to it; falling helpless, bound to land on something and splatter, a mere drop in the middle of many, many more drops.

Yami slid his knee onto the concrete that protruded up from the side of the bridge, and then lifted the other knee. He was sitting on his knees atop the bridge, unnoticed, unknown. He stood up and gained balance. Yami looked down at the water again.

***

"WHAT IN ALL THE HELLS?!" yelled three boys, their eyes glued to the television set. The screen had snowed out, and a newsperson replaced the scene from the evening live football game.

"This is the only time Domino High is on TV!!!" screeched Honda. Jou chimed in, and an angry Yugi chucked popcorn at the television, hitting the newslady square in the head.

"Excuse us for this interruption, but there is quite a nasty storm brewing." The screen switched to a radar, displaying a large cell of storms and graphs of lightning and circulations. "The Thunderstorm Warning has been upgraded to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. There are winds above 50 miles per hour, large hail, and lots of rain. If you are outside, please get home. We might be expecting tornadic activity, and a Tornado Watch has been issued for Domino City. That is all, and we hope you have a safe night." With that, the screen switched back to the football game.

"Where's Yami?" asked Yugi, with a worried tone.

Honda and Jou exchanged glances, and remained dumb.

"Last time I checked, he was going over to get pizza."

"Pizza," spat Yugi. "He went out THERE to get PIZZA? He could have called for delivery!"

"Well, he got US good. If he tricked us, then why WOULD he have gone out there?" asked Jou.

"I don't care WHAT he's doing," said Yugi," but I don't care about the game anymore, if Yami's at stake. See you guys later. And don't follow, because you might do something stupid."

With that, Yugi threw on a raincoat and ran through the door.

***

Yami stood upon the bridge, thinking of his little light. He smiled, for the first time in a long, long time; he smiled to himself. The smile quickly faded as a cold wind slapped his face. The metal bar of the bridge was wet and slick with water, and Yami knew it. One false move, and he would fall to his death.

Fate seemed to laugh Yami in the face. He felt a sneeze coming on, but before he could hold his nose, the sneeze came rocketing out, causing Yami's foot to slip and lose balance. Yami shreiked and tried to hold onto the bar, but it was too wet; he grasped it for a moment but slipped off and plummeted down, down into th abyss, down.

***

Yugi heard a yell and quickly turned to the bridge. He saw a figure standing atop it and his blood ran cold.

"Oh _no_..." he whispered, and took off towards it, keeping his eye on the man atop the bridge at all times. His eyes were leaking huge, hot tears. Horrified, the little boy ran as fast as he could, unti he neared it close enough to make the figure out.

It was, as he feared, Yami. But his fears soon became mere worries, for at that moment, he looked fear in the eye. He saw the figure slip and fall off of where it stood.

"NO!" yelled Yugi as he ran as fast as he could, hopelessly aware of Yami's fate. He slipped on a puddle, got up, and ran again. His nose was bleeding freely. ~No, no, no..this can't happen, NO!~

***

Yami yelled until he couldn't scream any more, falling to his death. He drew closer to the water, and straightened his body into a dive. ~If I don't glide into the water, If i "flop", the shock will KILL me!~ Yami put his arms our in front of him. He didn't want the first impact on his face.

Yami felt a stinging shock throughout his body as he entered the cold, icy waters. He soared through them, eyes closed and arms extended. Finally, the fall came to a stop, and he lay in a state of suspended animation, deep under the water.

Yami's head hurt badly; his whole body hurt beyond belief. The cold water stung him, made him wince, tighten his muscles, clench his teeth. He hardened and tensed all over. He then realized it: He was alive. ~ALIVE! I'M ALIVE!~ Yami ignored the pain and began to swim t the surface.

Yami swam for his life. His muscles ached so badly that he had to focus on anything but the pain, for if he did, it would worsen and he would tire and die. Yami trodded upward through the frigid lake, and when he was but a few feet from the surface, a cramp struck him immobile. Yami summoned up all his strength and moved, but he was sinking. He had let all his air out, and there was nothing to float on. He was being aided with his lungs before, but now he had to fight the water head to head!

Yami fought upward, strained himself to live, and pulled every ounce of power from himself to swin. He was but a few ounces too short. Yami was about to give up when he thought of Yugi, his aibou, his hikari. ~I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!~ Invisible hands, or so it felt, pushed Yami the rest of the way up. Yami threw his head back above the surface and took a huge breath. He was breathing life; hope; power.

~I'm alive...~ Yami floated atop the surface and rested, then began his journey back to shore.

***

Yugi had made it to the shore of the lake and had walked into the water when he saw his yami's head pop up from the water.

"YAMI!!!!" he yelled. Yami turned his head and began to swin toward his hikari, and Yugi jumped into the icy waters, despite the temperature, and paddled toward his alter.

They grew closer and closer, until the two boys were a mere foot away from each other in the water. Yugi had been sobbing and his eyes were as bloodshot as Yami's. Yugi moved in and clung to Yami's jacket, grasping the cloth in his hands and letting out muffled sobs into Yami's chest. He looked up at Yami after hearing him utter a sound.

Yugi looked up into Yami's eyes, but turned away when he heard a motor. He made out the outline of Jou and Honda in a speedboat.

"Yug, get in!"

Yugi got into the boat, and pullled Yami up after him. He didn't ask how the other two boys had known exactly where whey were. He sat down, bundled up with Yami and soaking wet. They were covered wiht a flannel blanket, another item Yugi didn't ask about.

Yugi looked at Yami, who was pale and cold. Tears rolled down his face. He silently cried, hoping nobody would hear.

"It's okay..." said Yugi, at first stuttering. He was the one comforting his YAmi, the opposite of what it had always been.

"Yami, it's okay. Just let it all out. Don't hide."

Yami whimpered softly, and then began to sob. He leaned his head on Yugi's shoulder and cried, half out of pain and half out of seeing Yugi again. He was alive.

Yugi wiped the tears away from Yami's face and spoke to him.

"Yami, I'm here for you. Soon, we'll all be back home. You'll be in a safe, warm bed. Don't worry."

Yami looked up at Yugi, and silently thanked him. "Don't ever leave me. Please."

Yugi put an arm around Yami's shoulders and the two fell fast asleep.