Disclaimer-I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh

Yugi gave a glance at his friend from the corner of his eye … No, they weren't his friends any more. Joey, Tristian, Tea and even Yami! They were barely friends; acquaintances at best.

Do they even notice me?

Today, like every other day, Yugi's so-called friends and Yami walked pasted him like he was nothing. Like he was invisible to their eyes.

"Guys?" Yugi asked quietly hoping today was the day it went back to normal; how it was like before. Before Yami got his own body, that is. And before everyone started to leave him.

Tea frowned at his squeak of a voice. "What? What do you want?"

Yugi tried to work a smile up on his face, "Are you going to the mall? Can I tag along?" he asked, a wavering smile on his face.

Her amber eyes darted around him, "Er, well, we already had plans and all, Yugi. I don't want to change them." She said, teeth gritted like she wanted to just tell him off. Yugi could hear the underlying message as clearly as she spoke to him. Leave us alone; can't you see you're not wanted here?

Yugi watched as Tea shifted nervously, lying every sentence. What happened to the friendship speech? The 'Together, Friends Forever' speeches she always gave them throughout middle and high school?

How could things change so drastically in such a short time? Why was he the only one who noticed the change?

Hundreds of questions hurled in his head, unable to find the answer. Why was life like this?

"Come on, you heard Tea! You know third wheels are a pain." Tristian snapped, eyes glancing down on his watch. His fist pounded the wall beside him to show his anger, "And we're wasting time here!"

Yugi sighed feeling too depressed to be intimidated, and walk home by himself -again.

What had gone wrong? What had he done to make them act like this to him?

It was barely a year since Yami got his own body. Heck, it was hardly half a year. Thanks to their begging, Shadi finally gave in to their demands and found a way to separate Yami from Yugi. They were ecstatic at the thought.

Yugi was the happiest one of them all.

He had already thought of hundreds of games to play with each other,now that Yami would be able to compete against him. They would actually be able to duel each other for once.

It was fun - well at least only for the first few months, that is to say.

Slowly, Yami and the other three drifted off.

It started with not walking home with him, as they started to frequent store and other places right after school. Then, it changed to not inviting him to join in with their games. Next, they stopped inviting him to their grouply events such as going to amusement parks. Soon, they stopped hanging out in class, out of class, and even stopped dueling with them. After a while, he started to become completely ignored by everyone.

Yes, he had noticed it from the start, but Yugi thought they just wanted to spend more time with Yami. When they didn't invite him to amusement parks or movies, Yugi tried to shrug it off, telling himself that they just didn't want all the hassle with explaining to the ticketer that he was, indeed, a high-school student, and he did have the discount, or that he was old enough to watch the movie. When they stopped dueling with him, Yugi told himself that it was because Yami was a much better dueler, and they wanted to learn more from him.

But when they started to ignore him, it was the last straw.

He spoke up, finally, about the problem going on. And what did they do?

They scoffed at him! They said he just wanted more attention. They said that he was being foolish, and that he needed time to realized that now Yami had his own body, their time with him would be halved, and that he should get use to that.

Yugi understood, he really did. But was it really halved? No; it was much, much less than that. He was being ignored by them!

Yet, he couldn't voice in the opinion.

Yami seemed like he was having fun, and that made Yugi a bit happier.

He'd always thought of other before himself.

... and look where that got him.

"I'm home!" Yugi yelled when he got back to the game shop. "Hey Gramps." At least someone here loved him.

"Hey Yugi," Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Mutou, replied. "Could you help me with a few boxes of cards? They're a bit heavy for me."

Yugi shook his head, forgetting about his troubles for the while. He chuckled; why would Gramps still try to do things like pick up boxes of cards at his age? Gramps was always one to overestimate his own abilities. And really, at this age, he really shouldn't even be exploring anymore, but he still did.

"Sure!" Yugi replied, running towards the boxes. Really, Gramps shouldn't be forcing himself so hard, the boy thought adoringly to himself.

Picking the cardboard box up, Yugi couldn't help but stagger at the weight. They were heavy indeed.

Hoping to look as if he could handle it, Yugi took slow strides towards the counter. He really didn't want Grampa to do this himself, and he didn't want to keep him waiting. Sadly, it was a mistake. There was a loose card on the floor Yugi didn't see. He was concentrating too hard on keeping the box up that he wasn't focused else where.

And as one would have expected, stepping on the card, Yugi slipped, spilling the box and it's contents in every direction. It was like a firework of cards.

"Sorry Gramps," Yugi squeaked as he bent down to pick up the fallen cards, face red. He hurriedly scooped up cards, trying to fix things right as quickly as he could. He stumbled in his frantic movements, bumping into a lamp with his elbow. It wobbeled and fell on the floor with a clang.

Embarrassment was shown clearly on his face as Yugi glanced up hesitantly almost wary of how his Gramps would react.

"It's okay Yugi; I'll pick it up," Solomon sighed as he got down on his knees, "Don't worry about it; just go to your room and work on your homework."

Yugi berated himself. How could he be so clumsy?

"And be careful on your way up. Please don't drop anything else..." Yugi clenched his fists. His grandfather was ashamed of him; he could tell from his voice.

Yugi sprinted up to his room, hoping to be spared from anymore embarrassing details. Sadly, it wasn't fast enough. He could still hear as his grandfather muttering to himself on the ground.

"I wish he was more like Yami. He would be more careful with my things. My, thank god this rare card wasn't damaged. I wou-..."

Yugi slammed his door shut and sighed. It was like no one was on his side anymore…

At least Grampa tried to be discreet.

As the next day came, Yugi put up his fake smile before walking towards his ex-friends.

"What do you want now?" Tristian asked, clearly annoyed. He almost seemed like the bully he used to be once more.

"U-u-mmm," stammered Yugi. Taking a deep breathe, he gathered his courage. "I was wondering if you would want to go to the movies with me later?"

"Yugi, stop being self-fish." Tea interrupted him from continuing. "Remember what happened last time. And the time before." the girl rolled her eyes, "And the time before that." she continued, "We didn't even get to watch the movie. We spend all the time arguing with the cashier; we'd be just wasting money this time too. Do you know how long it takes to even get into the theater? We could be out there for ages."

"Well," Yugi bit his lips, "Well, we could always do something else? Park?" he offered. "We haven't spent much time together lately."

"Today?"

"Don' bother; we 'ave plans alre'dy. We're going to ta arcade. The four of us, I mean. Me with Tristian, Tea, and Yami. We're still try'n to get Yami here a'justed ta games and gamin' machines. Much betta' than goin' ta parks, ya know. We ain't kids no more." Joey said while looking at the others for their approval.

As the others nodded at his statement, he turned back at Yugi and grinned.

A second voice spoke up."Why don't you go home and fix dinner? Grandfather's gone for another dig, so it'll be just the two of us at home. I wouldn't mind having something to eat once I get home." the voice said dismissively.

Yugi looked at the speaker. Yami.

"Yes, oh great Pharaoh," Yugi muttered sarcastically, anger suddenly building up. At least he still had his pride.

"Hey, if you start calling me that, I'll be happier." Yami added offhandedly, laughing, before walking away with his friends.

Screw pride.

o-o

"I can't take this!" Yugi yelled, chucking his backpack down on his bed.

His grandfather left for a dig early that morning, and Yami was still at the arcade with his friends.

"My friends are against me, my Yami is against me, and most of all, my grandfather is against me! Doesn't anyone care anymore?"

His cry echoed through the empty house. No one was there to reply. The silence did nothing more than further pull Yugi deeper into depression.

"It doesn't matter now … I'm going -" He froze. Going where, though? Where could he go? His Gramps and Yami were his only relatives left. "I'm going - going - oh, I don't know! Away! Somewhere! Anywhere! No one cares; I don't, and apparently no one does!"

Yugi grabbed his suitcase. Clothing, toothbrush, money ... what else did he need?

He took his time wandering around the house.

A small innocent tug in his stomach told him to stay. Told him 'you're wrong to do this; there's a better choice'. So, Yugi took his time, hoping for someone to come and stop him. Someone, anyone to tell him he was wrong, and it was only a spur of a moment thought. Hoping for at least the doorbell or phone to ring, snapping him up from this nightmare.

As he at last finished packing, he looked up and sighed; nothing happened. It was as though it was meant for him to leave.

And so, he took his cue.

Finally accepting his destiny, Yugi made his last stop in Yami's room. With confidence, he left his dueling deck on Yami's desk, not sparing it a second glance.

"I don't need those - and never will."

Writing a quick note goodbye, he ran out, accepting the dark and cold world outside. This was where his life lied from now on.

With a wave, Yugi summoned a Taxi and ordered a stop at the Domino Airport. He relaxed as the cab started.

As he let his hand fall from his face, his arm brushed against his puzzle. Yugi looked at it with surprise; he had gotten so used to having it around his neck that he forgot all about it.

He stared at the puzzle, immersed in the past. Suddenly, with a jolt, Yugi came to a conclusion. With a jerk, he tugged off his puzzle. Opening the taxi window, Yugi flung it out onto the street with one thought on his mind:

So long Yami.

"Time to start a new life," Yugi thought to himself. "I can't have you pulling my past up; I need a clean, new start. A start where you'll never exist."

With a smile, Yugi stared off into space.

You'll never ruin my life again...