"It is lovely, when I forget all birthdays, including my own, to find that somebody remembers me." ~ Ellen Glasgow

Ryou woke up slowly. He stretched, content. Then the abnormal oddities about this morning clicked in his mind.

The first thing he noticed was that it was late. Almost 10:00 AM. This was abnormal because usually he was up by around 6:30, woken by generally startling and uncomfortable alarms that were his transient spirit, Bakura's, 'wake up' pranks. He jumped out of bed, looking around for the reason. There had to be something in his room waiting to jump out at him, drench him in something cold and messy, or flatten him unexpectedly. He stood on his toes, wary of every potential trap.

Just yesterday Bakura had, at an unreasonable hour in the morning, flipped his mattress with Ryou still on it. The day before that it had been a bucket of water to the face.

Looking around, he checked under the bed, threw open the closet, closed the window and toppled the large clothesbasket in the corner. But he didn't find anything. He relaxed with a sigh. There was nothing to be afraid of…in his room at least. He heard a slight creak out in the hall.

Jumping at the sound, he tiptoed over to the door and peeked out. No one stood in the long, sunlit hall as he'd expected. His apartment seemed strangely empty. The bathroom door, across the hall, stood open, moving slightly in a breeze that originated from the open window. It creaked as it swayed back and forth. Ryou shook his head.

Still trying to preserve the unnatural silence, though he didn't know why, Ryou slinked down the hall to the last door on the left. It was weird. Bakura never slept in. In fact…Ryou couldn't remember the last time he'd actually seen Bakura sleep. He drew a deep breath and grasped the handle, turning it slowly and praying that the hinges wouldn't shriek and give him away in case his supernatural visitant flat-mate did happen to be in there.

Pushing the door, he found himself looking into a room he rarely saw. It was painted, unsurprisingly, a dark shade of gray. Two windows, one on the back wall and one on the right—seeing as how the room was on the corner of the apartment complex—were both open and some papers fluttered gently. The sun streamed in, warming the whole room.

Pictures covered the walls, all drawn and shaded in pencil.

Ryou wasn't sure when Bakura had actually taken up drawing, but at some point he'd asked Ryou to start buying him pencils and art paper. Ryou had done it without question because it was expected, although his curiosity had been eating at him since he himself also loved to draw. This was the first time he had actually seen any of the older teen's work. He was both amazed at the skill with which the pictures were drawn, and also mortified at some of the morbid and disturbed images that were posted on the walls. Not all of them were dark though.

One showed a white bird taking flight, trying to catch up with a flock that preceded it. Another was a delicately drawn rose; the thorns were angled so that they looked like they could cut through two-dimensional bonds of the paper and cut an unwary observer. Stepping cautiously into the room, as it was obvious that Bakura wasn't there, Ryou looked around at the drawings. On an oak desk in the corner was a half-finished drawing. Looking back to make sure that Bakura wasn't in the hall, Ryou cautiously stepped over to examine it more closely.

He almost couldn't believe it when he realized that it was himself he was looking at, sketched on the empty white paper. The pencils lay beside the paper, as though the artist, Bakura, had just taken a break and would be back soon.

Though Ryou knew he should leave before Bakura, wherever he was, discovered him, he couldn't help but continue to look at the pictures. Most were random. Every once in a while he caught sight of himself or a self-portrait of Bakura.

Finally Ryou remembered that he was trespassing in Bakura's room, and that despite the fact that there had been no wake up call this morning, if the teen ever found out the 'games' would get a hundred times worse. He snuck out and closed the door. It was then that he realized he could smell something…

Stepping as quietly as he could, he made his way towards the kitchen. He thought his eyes would pop out of his head when he saw Bakura standing at the kitchen sink, chopping some potatoes into cubes and then shoving them into an automatic shredder. What smelled like ham simmered on the stove. He could see a plate of eggs sitting on the counter.

"So you've finally decided to wake up?" Bakura's snide voice broke the silence. Ryou jumped. The teen turned around tapping the knife impatiently against the counter. "Well come sit down."

Ryou just stood there. "What are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask.

"What does it look like? Now if you don't feel like starving, come sit down." Bakura snapped.

Hesitantly, Ryou went and sat at the counter, looking around for the trap he had yet to fall for. "Why are you making breakfast?"

"Does that really matter?" Bakura hissed, sliding a plate at him. It had eggs, a slice of ham, and hash browns all arranged neatly on the dish. Bakura grabbed him a glass and poured filled it with water. That done, Bakura snatched a piece of ham for himself and grabbed a glass, filling it with tap water, and stalked off to his room.

He stared at the food before him, wondering if he should dare to eat it. It probably had some non-lethal poison that would make him sick for days stashed in it. Could he possibly allow himself to eat something that Bakura, Bakura who had made his life a waking nightmare for half his life; had explained in detail the many ways he'd like to torture then punish his enemies; had been trying to get revenge on some other spirit for 3 millennia, had made…Why, out of the goodness of his heart? Bakura hadn't cooked for Ryou ever! It was always the other way around.

Ryou finally managed to force a bite of potatoes down his throat. They tasted normal. Suddenly realizing how hungry he was, he momentarily gave up trying to figure out the flaw Bakura had put in his breakfast and ate it. He finished and cleaned up his dishes and all the mess the 'chef' had left. That finished, he walked back down the hall and knocked on Bakura's door.

There was no answer.

"Bakura? I need to talk to you."

The door opened. "Are you finished?"

Ryou looked up at Bakura who overshadowed him. "Um, yeah, but—"

"Then get dressed. We have places to go." Bakura snapped, and then he began to close his door again.

Ryou put his hand on it. "Where are we going?" He asked incredulously, his eyebrow rose suspiciously.

Bakura put on his favorite smirk. "You'll find out, Hikari." The door slammed.

"Okay." Ryou said. He went back into his room and closed his own door. Changing into a typical pair of jeans and long-sleeved green shirt, he slipped into his sneakers. Then he grabbed his jacket off a hook by the door. He couldn't imagine what type of activity Bakura could possibly be planning, and he looked towards it with apprehensive trepidation. When he opened his door again, Bakura was leaning against the wall waiting for him.

Bakura's visage was grim, almost like he was dreading this outing as much as Ryou was. "Do I get to know where we're going?" Ryou sighed, hoping that Bakura would just say 'Forget it' and go back into his room.

"I said you'd find out, didn't I? Try some patience, my Yadonushi." Bakura said snappily, stalking down the hall to the front door. "Come on!"

Ryou followed slowly. Something was wrong with Bakura. His brow was furrowed with worry, wondering what could possibly be going on? Was he plotting something? That was entirely possible, and it would be just like Bakura to do that. Ryou followed him out the door and down the sidewalk.

An awkward silence surrounded them like a cloud. Neither of them talked, and it seemed that Bakura was fine with it staying that way. Ryou couldn't stand not knowing what was going on though. "Bakura…where are we going? Please tell me?"

"Baka Hikari… " He trailed off and sighed, gritting his teeth and waiting up for Ryou. "We'll be there in about five minutes if you think you can handle that." He looked at him. "Can you?"

Ryou just nodded. Bakura jerked his head and began walking at a hurried pace again. His younger counterpart hurried to catch up, trotting just behind him with his head down slightly. His curiosity was getting the best of him, though. He was so wrapped up in his wondering that when Bakura stopped suddenly he ran into him, earning himself an irritated glare.

He read the bright, neon sign hung above two large, glass sliding doors.

Domino Arcade

"What…what are we doing here?" Ryou asked, staring at the building blankly. Bakura didn't reply, but walked ahead, triggering the automatic doors. "Bakura, why are we here?" He insisted.

Bakura snorted. "You complain that I treat you poorly, and yet when I make an attempt at giving you a form of mortal enjoyment you can do nothing but question my incentive. Now go. You have until one."

The teen forced a small smile, but wondered how he was expected to enjoy a trip to the arcade when it had been the idea of his yami to come. How could he even begin to concentrate on video games when the circumstance was so…abnormal? This wasn't right. Everything about it said that something was going on, and Bakura wasn't about to tell him what it was. Regardless, he made his way into the heart of the busy business.

The sounds of lasers, guns, beeps and electronic hums were almost deafening. Bright neon lights that matched the sign outside lined the walls and made the room glow. Bakura stayed by the door and glowered, glaring daggers at anyone who came too close.

Biting his lip uncertainly, Ryou pulled money out of a worn leather wallet, glad that he'd thought to bring it, and stuffed it into a machine near the middle of the store, which spit out game tokens into a metal tray. Gathering them up, he glanced back at Bakura who had pulled out a deck he'd made of Ryou's cards and was shuffling them rhythmically. He looked bored, Ryou decided.

Maybe it wasn't a trick after all. Maybe he'd just brought him here to have fun, like he'd said. He glanced over his shoulder again. And maybe pigs could fly. Ryou, feeling jumpy, picked a game and began playing.

Even though Ryou had expected that he wouldn't be able to enjoy being at the arcade, he was deep into the games within minutes. He had used to come with his friends to the arcade…back when he'd had friends. His eyes flickered across the tall screen he was at, watching the enemy monsters and his own army of three knights. His two helpers died quickly though. Finally he died when a Boss level enemy stepped on him.

He went to a new game, this one a shooting game with handguns as controllers. He was only a minute into playing when a hand grasped his shoulder. He gasped, dropping the gun, and flipped around.

Bakura, standing right behind him, looked amused at his reaction. "You live like a rabbit who knows that someday the fox is going to catch him. You just don't know when." He grinned. Ryou flinched. "What are you playing?"

"Um, it's called Tomb-Raider…you…shoot all the mummies and skeletons and cursed relics that attack you, and you have to watch out for traps. And when you get to the King's Chamber you steal all the gold and treasure."

Bakura looked at the screen, which now read "Game Over". "I wouldn't have expected you to enjoy a game this violent…I thought you'd prefer something nicer." He said.

"It isn't violent. I mean…it's all fake." Ryou argued.

"You don't need to explain to me, Hikari. Would you mind having an extra player?"

Yes, I do mind. Just go shuffle your cards. "No. No, you can play if you want…"

"Good." Bakura pulled out a few coins and slid them into the slots on the bottom of the machine. The game started up again, and the two of them picked up the black and red guns.

"Shoot off screen to reload your gun." Ryou mumbled, just as the mummies started coming out from behind pillars and corners. Ryou shot multiple times at each one, running out of ammo quickly. It took a lot of shots to kill them. Bakura chose to aim for 'Critical Points' that it had mentioned in the very beginning. He only had to shoot once or twice to get them to go down.

After a few levels they walked down a long stone hall, lined by pillars of crumbling stone. A sudden lurch made the whole screen shake and two metal grails slid down over the entrance and exit so there was no escape. Then metal spikes came out of the walls on the side and began sliding towards them.

"Shoot the bolts on the grail, the big ones on the corners." Ryou said hurriedly, already shooting away.

Bakura did as Ryou said and just as the walls were getting close, the grail crumbled to the ground and they ran out. Only to be ambushed by tall priests wearing the heads of animal gods. They held whips and clubs and ran at them. Long silver spears also shot out of the walls at them, which you had to shoot before they hit you. Ryou shot the priests and spears, but his half of the screen kept going red, as he got hurt.

"Shoot them in the head, Ryou. Stop aiming for their chest." Bakura snapped. Too late, though. A countdown started on Ryou's screen.

"Oh, I died." He said.

Bakura shoved a coin at him. "Start up again. Hurry, you only have a few seconds." Ryou fumbled with the coin and shoved it in the slot. His screen cleared again and a priest, hounded by a skeleton, lurched towards him. He shot them as fast as he could and soon they were all dead.

A gilded door stood at the end of the last room. "That's the treasure chamber. We go in there, face a boss, and if we beat him we win." Ryou said, amazed that they'd made it as far as they had.

Entering the room, they saw that there was treasure everywhere. The walls were stacked with it and it was in piles in the room. A huge sarcophagus sat in the middle of the room. It shook and rumbled loudly. The giant lid slid off with a boom. Stepping out slowly, a giant mummy appeared. Not only was it tall, taller than any human could be, it was strong. The mummy's rotting muscles wrapped his body. He looked like an undead body builder on steroids.

As the level started, Bakura actually laughed out loud. "As if any mummy would ever look like that." He shot at it.

"Well, it isn't supposed to be real." Ryou replied, aiming for some skeletons that were climbing out from behind the piles of gold.

The giant mummy swung wrapped fists at them and the skeletons and disguised priests came in ever-greater numbers. Ryou died twice more, and Bakura died only once. But finally they shot the giant mummy enough, causing it to shrivel and turn to dust. Two large gold words flashed brightly on the screen. 'You Win'.

Bakura shoved the gun back into its holster. Ryou placed his in more carefully. "Did you actually enjoy playing that?" Ryou asked Bakura.

He shrugged. "It was alright for some mild entertainment I suppose." He looked at the digital clock displayed above the door. It said 1:20. "Are you ready to leave?" he asked.

Ryou nodded. After the short walk, they were back at Ryou's apartment. By this time Ryou had had plenty of time to reconsider why Bakura had taken him to the arcade. There had to be some reason…some reason…

"Yadonushi, what do you want for dinner this evening?"

Ryou blinked at Bakura. "What?"

"Dinner? Do you want to go somewhere or stay here? If you really want, I can make something."

It took a minute for the words to register. Bakura…was offering to make dinner. It wasn't right. And he'd made breakfast. And he'd taken him to the arcade. And he hadn't woken Ryou up this morning…

"Ok, what is going on?!" Ryou burst out suddenly, throwing his caution aside. He had to find out what Bakura was up to, because this less ruthless Bakura was scaring him more then the normal one did. "Why are you doing this? Is this a giant joke? Are you…are you being nice today because you're going to be twice as mean tomorrow? I mean…what?"

"I don't know—" Bakura started to say.

"Yes you do know! You know, Bakura, and you aren't telling me. I know that you're planning something and it's driving me crazy trying to figure out what it is. Just tell me!"

The room was silent, and only then did Ryou realize how he'd just spoken to Bakura. He looked down, his face flushing red, and he flinched as Bakura stepped up to him and lifted his chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

His voice was dangerous. "Only today, Hikari. Only today will I ever let you speak to me like that."

Ryou swallowed. "Why today?"

Bakura laughed. "You really are clueless." He began walking down the hall. "Stay there." He called.

He stood there awkwardly, feeling very confused. "Close your eyes, Hikari." His yami's voice drifted down the hall. Ryou did so and a few moments later he felt Bakura's hands on his shoulders. They guided him until he was standing where he assumed the front window would be that looked out over the parking lot and out to the park across the street.

"Ok." Ryou opened his eyes. He'd been right. The window was before him. He looked out, trying to see if there was anything in the parking lot. But there was nothing but cars. Bakura suddenly handed him a small white box with a silver ribbon wrapped around it.

Ryou looked at it, scared to open it. But, fingers numb, he pulled the ribbon off and lifted the lid. He looked at the contents and then at Bakura.

Bakura looked back at him seriously. "Isn't it customary for mortals to get a car on their sixteenth birthday?"

"My birthday?" Everything seemed to snap into focus. "September 2nd...It's my birthday." He murmured to himself. He looked back out the window.

"You…y-you didn't though." Ryou stuttered. He pulled the simple key that hung off of a white and black Yin Yang key ring out of the box. He pointed it out the window and pressed the unlock button on the remote also on the ring. A white Honda's lights flashed in the parking lot. He pressed his forehead to the window. Then he whipped around.

"Bakura! You can't do this! I can't take this car if it's stolen…"

"It isn't stolen." Bakura muttered.

Ryou turned his head to the side. "It isn't?"

A small smirk slid onto Bakura's face. "No. I just got it at a greatly discounted price using the right persuasion. You could say I'm good at negotiating. Your car is completely legal though. The documents are in the dashboard if you don't believe me."

Ryou was practically speechless. "W-why did you do this?" He whispered, staring outside.

"Obviously someone had to remember your birthday, Hikari. Even if you didn't." He paused and pulled out a second box. This one was black, the same size as the first, and also had a silver ribbon tied around it. "I also got you this."

He accepted the black box and pulled the shimmering ribbon away. Inside were a ticket, two small gold stars, and a Duel Monsters card.

"You're officially an observer to the maker of Duel Monsters, Maximillian J. Pegasus', 'Duelist Kingdom' Tournament." Bakura said. "I couldn't manage to get you into the tournament itself, but I'm sure you would enjoy watching all the same. And who knows," He handed Ryou the deck of cards he'd been shuffling earlier. "Maybe someone will duel you just for fun."

He picked up one of the stars. "These will get you on the boat, along with the ticket. The card is an addition to your deck. Don't lose any of these, understand?"

"I…I…ok." Ryou finally managed. "Thanks."

Bakura looked at the cards in Ryou's hand and at the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck. "No need to thank me, Yadonushi. Just enjoy your trip. It's a once in a lifetime chance. And don't ever mention it." He snapped cynically.

"No, Bakura. Thank you. You remembered my birthday...I mean, I didn't even remember, but you still did. So thank you. But, still, I just want to know why."

Bakura looked out the window. "I have my reasons. And one of them is that today is one day that you should at least try to enjoy yourself."

"Thanks." Ryou said again.

Bakura just nodded. Then he began walking back down the hall, leaving Ryou in the front room. Before he closed himself in his room, he called quietly, "Happy birthday, Hikari."

Dedications

This fic is dedicated to Living Like I'm Not Alive. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE! You're amazing!
And also to Journey Maker who reviewed, "I wish that one day Bakura could be nice to Ryou, but that will never happen..." I hope this proved you wrong.

Please Review!