Right. I'll try and make this the last chapter, but who knows. ^_^ Oh and I know someone asked in their review when Bakura was gonna tell Yugi he has the Millennium Ring, but that's probably not going to come into this fic. Maybe in a sequel, ne? ^_~

 

 

This time when I awoke, for the first time in over a year I felt completely free and as though I truly knew myself. Even though it was grey and dismal outside, the day still seemed more beautiful to me than it had in a long time. And all because I was now free of Yami.

I struggled to sit up, my head still aching a little from the battle of wills which I had gone through only a few hours previously with Yami. I reached up and rubbed the side of my head distractedly, suddenly noticing that I was alone in the room, and the Millennium Puzzle which had been on the floor next to me was gone. Where was Ryou?

I stood up and shakily walked out of the living room to find him. Why would he have left me there? I glanced down at my hands and noticed little crescent shaped cuts in my palms; while I was restraining Yami I must have been clenching my fists too hard...This immediately left my mind, however, as I peeped around the corner into the kitchen and saw Ryou sitting at the table, staring warily at a box in front of him.

My movements must have distracted him, as he suddenly said,

"Yugi! Are you all right?!" And hurriedly stood up from the table, knocking over his chair in the process of coming over to see me. As I let go of the wall and tried to approach him I stumbled, but luckily Ryou was there to catch me and he gently led me over to a chair. "Yugi...how are you feeling?"

I smiled up at him, and took his hand again.

"A little weak...but other than that, perfect - thanks to you..." He beamed at me, and I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as he was then.

"Oh Yugi...I'm just glad you're all right." He bent down and kissed me, but then pulled away, his expression solemn as he glanced over to the box on the table. "...What do we do with it?"

I too turned to gaze at what lay on the table, and swallowed hard.

Where could we put it where we could be sure that no one would ever find it again?

"I...I don't know." My throat had suddenly gone dry and I felt strange as I looked upon the box which contained a part of my life. Ideally we should destroy it...but I'm not sure if that was even possible.

"...You think we should throw it in the sea, Yugi?" He murmured questioningly, glancing at me to see how I felt about the idea.

"Yeah. Yeah I think that's a good idea, Ryou. What about on the way to the Duelist Kingdom?" He nodded and we fell into silence, both just contemplating all that had happened, and all that had just come to an end.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Hand in hand, me and Ryou boarded the boat, the Millennium Puzzle safely kept in his bag, as he had thoughtfully realised that I wouldn't really want to keep it anywhere near me.

We expected to meet up with Tristen and Téa soon, (they had stuck with their plan of sneaking on board), but of course there was something that Ryou and I had to take care of first.

I'm not sure where Joey is though. I hadn't seen him since....since I ran away, and I hadn't dared to seek him out.

Ryou led me up to the front of the boat, and we stood side by side in quiet thought as he retrieved the box from his bag. He looked at me and smiled slightly, his beautiful hair being blown around carelessly in the wind as he offered the box to me. I shook my head, looking up at him seriously.

"Ryou...I...I want you to do it." His face registered slight surprise at my answer, but I really did want him to be the one to end it all. Without him, it wouldn't even have been possible for me to break free of Yami's hold.

He nodded though, and I held my arm loosely around his waist as the box fell from his delicate fingers into the thrashing foaming waves of the sea.

 

And then it was gone.

 

I shut my eyes and with a sigh of relief relaxed into Ryou's arms; he held me from behind, his quiet strength giving me the support I needed.

"Thank you..." I whispered softly, and my lips curved happily as I felt him lightly kiss the side of my neck, then rest his head on my shoulder.

And it was like this that I first saw the island where the tournament would be held; surrounded by the blood red glow of the sunset, the island looked strangely menacing yet enticing.

 

I would save my Grandpa's soul...and when I did, Ryou would be right there with me.

 

~Owari~

 

 

 

Finished! ^_^ heh, I can't believe how fast I wrote that....¬_¬" - having too much free time is not a good thing! Well, what did ya think? Should I try another one/sequel or stay away from yugioh fics? (that was a hard fic to write....*_*)