He looked outside, the only thing to see was darkness. He sighed and looked around, there was no one else in the carriage.
He took out his ticket, it was in completely blank, he sighed again. Which was his station?
Had he told the others he would be leaving?
Did he remember to visit first grandpa's grave?
Did he remember to pack everything?
Did he even brought his luggage?
Where was he even going?
How had he gotten in that train in the first place?
Irritated, he ruffled his hair. So many questions!
"Ugh" he decided to better think of nothing, maybe sleep a little. Yes, sleeping sounded good; he lied down, got comfortable and closed his eyes.
That courage brought us together!
I just want to be with you forever.
It's you I'm worried about.
Thank you. I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart. Partner!
Partner!
Yugi!
He opened his eyes slowly, it was not the first time his other self plagued his dreams.
He took notice of the little girl seated across him. She smiled and Yugi sat up.
"Hi, I'm Jennifer, but you can call me Jeni" she said and swung her legs "Who are you?"
"I'm Yugi, nice to meet you Jeni" he smiled.
"Nice to meet you too Yugi" she jumped off of her seat and sat next to Yugi "Why are you here Yugi?"
Yugi frowned, trying to remember, once again, the questions filled his head.
"I don't remember" he said.
"Well, I'm going to see my mom" she said determined.
"Alone?" he inquired. Jeni nodded, trying to not smile.
"Daddy gave me permission to come alone, because I'm a big girl now and he trusts me" her eyes shone with pride. Yugi couldn't help but smile.
"How old are you, Jeni?"
"I'm 5!" she said proudly showing him her tiny hand "How old are you Yugi?"
"I'm 26" she stared with wide eyes, Yugi giggled "I don't look that old, right?"
"You are very handsome for someone that old!" she said with a serious face, the compliment pierced Yugi's heart, old.
"Thank you" she nodded.
The train stopped, then after a couple of minutes it moved again.
"Do you know which is your station?" asked Yugi, Jeni shook her head.
"But I know mom will be waiting there for me"
"Did your dad told you that?" she shrugged.
"I'm not sure" she said, but her smile didn't falter.
They stayed in silence for a moment before Jeni frowned briefly and spoke again.
"Did you leave people home, Yugi?"
"Yes; my friends, my mom" he said, he had the feeling that he wouldn't see them in a very long time and that made him worry a little.
"Tell me about them, and I'll tell you about my daddy"
Yugi smiled.
"Okay" he said "I have quite some friends in Domino, there's Otogi, Honda, Mako, Mai, the Kaiba brothers" he counted with his fingers "Jounouchi, he is my best friend and also Anzu, there was a time I liked her" he smiled, so much good memories, he felt a heartwarming melancholy "And of course my mom; I guess that, since I won't be there she'll have to take care of the game shop alone" Jeni gasped.
"You have a game shop?!" her smile widened "I love games, my daddy and used to play twister every day" she said.
"Really? I love games too, I actually got crowned king of games" he laughed, she stared at him with admiration.
"Oh my god! That's awesome" she covered her smile with her hands and tried to not burst in giggles, she swung her legs with more energy "King of games" she whispered, amazed by the title.
Yugi giggled, delighted with her reaction.
She calmed down short after.
"Right, we made a deal" she said to herself "I only left my daddy behind; he's awesome, he's my best friend, he helps me with my homework and plays with me, he also cooks very good" she counted "He'll probably be worried until mom tells him I'm with her" she wondered "Is someone waiting for you?"
He didn't knew, but he had the feeling there would be someone at the station, the thought was heartwarming but kind of out of nowhere, since he didn't even remember if he told anyone that he was leaving.
"I'm not sure"
"For someone so old you sure don't know a lot of things" she said with no bad intentions, Yugi snorted, he knew this.
The train stopped again.
"Jennifer!" the girl gasped.
"That's mommy!" she shook Yugi's arm, exited "Mommy!"
A young woman walked in, she really looked like Jeni, both with straight blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Mommy, this is Yugi, the king of games" she pointed at him when her mother picked her up "Yugi, this is my mommy" the woman looked at Yugi and smiled warmly.
"Thank you, for taking care of Jennifer in this journey" Yugi scratched the back of his head shyly.
"It's nothing really" he said.
"Mommy, Yugi doesn't know which is his station"
"Don't worry dear, I'm certain he'll know when to get off the train" she said before walking away, carrying the girl in her arms "Goodbye Yugi, and thank you again, for taking care of Jennifer"
"It's nothing. Goodbye"
Yugi saved goodbye to his little friend, and she waved back.
After a minute or so the train continued its journey.
There was still nothing but darkness to be seen through the windows. He sighed again, how long had he been there?
He stood up and walked around the carriage, boring, the doors to the other carriages were locked, perfect, he thought sarcastically, he huffed, he was so bored it was starting to irritate him again.
After walking around a bit he let himself fall face down on his sit, he exhaled a frustrated 'agh' before turning around on his place.
He closed his eyes, decided to sleep some more.
Even if I never get my memories back.
I am no longer the other Yugi.
Atem.
The Pharaoh filled his dreams once again.
His heart ached, sometimes he wished he could just forget his other self, maybe then the loneliness wouldn't hunt him and his heart wouldn't feel so empty. But no, forgetting his other half would be thousands of times worst, his memories of him were his greatest treasure.
He stared at the sealing, not like he had much to do there.
He took the ticket out of his pocket and studied, it was still blank, except for his name and home city, he frowned, there must be something more to it, maybe if his other self was there with him, he max help him find the solution, after all, together they were unstoppable, kings of games, partners, two halves of a whole.
He closed his eyes, if only you were here, with me.
A melancholic smile appeared on his face, his heart thundered in his chest by only thinking of his other self.
When he opened his eyes and looked at his ticket again it had changed. The word Other had appeared on it, in big, black curvy handwriting. He sat up; it struck him like an arrow, that must be it! Whatever this weird journey was it had to do something with his other self!
He started thinking.
What had he been doing before waking up in that train?
Where had he been? With who?
He remembered feeling unwell that morning, he had got some work done with the Kaibas, then?
Then he had lunch with Ryo, Otogi and Jounouchi; Ryo, dear, kind, caring Ryo, he had been the first to notice that wasn't feeling quite well, of course he had dismissed the problem and told them that he was just a bit tired.
Then he went with Anzu to the movies, but he just kept feeling worst, they met Marik there and he took them to the museum to see an Egyptian exhibition.
He remembers his vision blurring, they were just finishing the tour and he remembers losing his breath, he fell, the last thing was Marik and Anzu yelling his name, had Marik called an ambulance? Probably he was very attentive and reacted fast.
Then.
Then?
Then he woke up in that train.
So that's it.
Indeed, that was it.
26 years.
What a short life.
Everyone must be worried about him.
He was dead. And yet, he felt really calm; yes, he was feeling kind of shitty because damn, only 26 years but, he wasn't freaking out nor feeling suddenly depressed.
Maybe it was because of him, he always made him feel better.
Is someone waiting for you?
Yes
He was sure of that.
The train stopped, he stood up, he felt as if a string pulled his heart; he almost ran to the door.
It opened.
The first thing he saw was the perfect embodiment of the A'aru*, just like the people of ancient Egypt described it, the view was breathtaking.
"Partner" he turned around.
Atem stood there, smiling brightly and with open arms.
Yugi's heart was filled with joy and he threw himself to his other self.
"Other me!"
They hugged each other so strongly it hurted but neither cared.
"I missed you so much other me" he said.
"I missed you too, Partner" he put Yugi down and held his hand "Come on, the others are waiting"
"The others?" but walked away of the train.
"Some friends of mine who want to meet you" he said "and of course, grandpa" he looked at Yugi and smiled.
Yugi squished his other's self hand.
"You haven't changed Partner" he leaned down a little a kissed Yugi's cheek, a pink blush appeared on his face as his smile grew.
"Neither have you, other me" he kissed the Pharaoh's lips, making their faces redden.
A guffaw escaped Atem's lips and they walked, laughing and holding hands, deeper and deeper into the field of reeds.
*The Field of Reeds (sometimes called The Field of Offerings), known to the Egyptians as A'aru