THE FORGOTTEN ONE

“I don’t think he knows I love him.”

“I don’t think she knows I love her.”

“Would you expose me to the masses, of the sin living in my heart?”

“Are you going to tell my secrets?”

“I promise not to tell a soul.”

“What do you think of us tiny little humans as you sit on your throne in the sky?”

“I plan to get away with murder. I need you to watch my back.”

“But how do you know what I do during the day? You hide under the earth when the sun rises.”

“Take me with you. Make me one of your brothers/sisters.”

“Will you fall from the heavens and be my friend?”

“I wish for a better future.”

“I wish for another tomorrow.”

“I wish the pain did not suffocate my soul.”

“She/he ruptures my heart with every breath.”

“The darkness in my soul recedes when he/she is near.”

“But do I tell him/her of my darkest crimes? Will they judge me for my sins?”

“Why won’t you answer me?!”

“Answer me!”

“Please, give me a sign.”

“I looking to you for guidance.”

“He tears apart my soul with every scathing looking.”

“I think I’m dying.”

“I don’t know how to go on.”

“At what point do I say enough is enough?”

“Will you wait for me with open arms?”

“Some say that I’m dreadful. I’m starting to believe them.”

“I killed her/him with my bear hands. And I can’t find it in my soul to care. Does that make me a bad person?”

“I have loved him/her since the moment I laid eyes on him/her.”

“There is a beast that lives in my heart. A terrible, brutal beast. No one will be able to love me.”

“I think it’s time I left. Saw the world. Went on an adventure.”

“Will you guide me home?”

my body is dead , but i'm still alive .

your words mean nothing , so take them back .

you're always on my mind , i can't help it .

my mind wants to control me .

i fear i won't live to see the day tomorrow .

there is no other choice .

i hate who i was before .

lay all your burdens to rest .

you're no good at acting , it's obvious what you're after .

i know how to make you go crazy .

you are the light , i've been searching for forever .

i never once was treated right .

you make me feel like i'm on drugs .

i'm feeling too scared to sleep .

i'll wreck you if you chase me .

i'm done , i'm done .

why do you always act so serious ?

i don't give a fuck , 'cos i'm so strong .

you're messing with my cycle , that's dangerous .

be the manic pixie dream girl you fucking ought to be .

i won't lick your wounds today .

don't treat me that way .

i won't be ashamed for loving you .

i never knew what it meant , to be content with you .

if you bite my hand again , i will never feed you .

it took me way too long to put this to bed .

every time you tell a lie , i'm praying that you choke .

i won't be mistreated .

it's all a game now , but once i'm in the world it's lost .

i know what's coming .

Also pretty cool to think that Grandpa had once had a past life beside Atem. Part of the royal court from what he was understanding. How else would this Shimon person be close to Pharaoh after all. Unless he was a relative of course.. Though Yugi didn't know how to feel about the prospect of his existence being because Atem existed first..

"That's interesting. I'm sure you remember from my memories but we had beliefs something like that in our history here too. Souls would be reborn into a new life over time and sometimes there were beings called youkai that were created depending on the circumstances of the person's death."

Yugi felt like he was becoming a history nut and wondered to himself if it was because it was in his genes, courtesy of grandpa. Or was it because of Atem and knowing his history that made the ancient world so much more appealing and fascinating to him?

"In our beliefs though, the whole soul was reborn or went on to the afterlife. If memory serves, there was some lesson not learned or some unfinished business that made them reincarnate, rather than move on to the afterlife. For the youkai I think it was intense feelings of regret, sorrow, rage, and not wanting to accept death that made them come into being. Or something like that. You'd hear and supposedly see a lot of youkai during the Warring States Era for example."

Yugi was a little embarrassed to admit that he didn't know his own history better. That was something he'd have to change, talking about it now made him realize that beliefs back then had been very interesting. There were even still some today who believed in those things.

"You know actually.. Even in this era you'll see people praying at gravesites and burning incense to keep the souls at peace so youkai don't raise up."

He said that last part distractedly, as if to himself. He had to wonder if there was truth in those old beliefs of youkai and the like. According to history, there was a time when they were a pretty prevalent presence in the world. There were even shrines to some of them dotting Japan here and there. And after all the crazy Yugi himself had seen, could he really just dismiss the possibility? No, not really.

Anyway, back on track!

Yugi subtly shook his head to recenter his focus and put the box in his arms down with the others that he had brought into the hall with Atem. At least he was good at thinking and working at the same time, he guessed with an inner snicker.

'Hm, interesting. A soul turned a demon... In our beliefs, a lot of damage can be done to one's soul when burial is not performed properly - as it was in my case. Your real name is part of your soul and losing it means no proper burial. You could say that when you unsealed me in the Puzzle, I was sort of a yokai but with a chance of rebuilt.'

Atem nodded. At this point, he was just following Yugi's orders and mimic his work between their conversation. It turned out to not be so hard with other's guidance.

'So part of my soul ressurected to become you and other part was what you met through Puzzle. Only thanks to our journey and especially getting my name back, I could become myself once more.' and find peace in Aaru, one that was disturbed. He really chose bad topic to keep his mind occupied with different things than his current situation.

"Ammit will never claim my soul," hard to claim something that has been shattered beyond recognition, that struggles to sustain its existence and hold the fragments together, "Banishing of what thrives in the shadows to the Shadow Realm hardly is a permanent fix. More of a vacation." If vacations involved constant torture of flesh and soul.

It was the little things like that, that Yugi had missed the most when his friend was gone. A constant companion, so he was never alone. Suddenly not having him there had felt like a tangible hole in the place of where Atem had once been. But now he was back and if he could be selfish for a moment, hopefully back to stay. He wasn't strong enough to say goodbye for a third time.

"Just one question so far," Yugi admitted. He glanced up at his friend after his mind caught up to everything Atem told him. "Who is Shimon? The only thing I get is that he and Grandpa are somehow connected?"

Yugi worked while he spoke, carefully pushing a box here and there until he got to the window. The window showed how long it had been since it was opened too since it gave him a little trouble at first. But pushing it hard enough, finally made it give and open. Of course a breeze chose that moment to come into the room with them and kicked up more dust. The result was Yugi coughing again and this time with a sneeze of his own.

"That's it! Once these boxes are out, this dust won't know what hit it. Maybe I should have gotten us some face masks though."

Yugi sniffled as if to emphasize the point and debated whether or not to go get those said masks. Only to conclude he'd try to tough it out first. So he rolled up his sleeves and started the task of carefully lifting boxes off the floor to move into the hallway just outside the door.

'It's...' that would be quite a long lecture, perhaps he should shorten it. 'Back in my times, we believed that every human has five souls that make complete one. And one of that souls revives every three thousand years and so, according to our beliefs, you and I share a part, Kaiba and Seth, and following that logic, I also knew a man who probably shared your grandpa's. And yes, his name was Shimon.'

Once more, Atem at first just stood next to Yugi and watched what he was doing. Alright, still moving boxes, it didn't seem so hard to do. And so, Egyptian started to lift boxes as well.