"They say that it's always darkest before the dawn. In my case, this was only too true. When the Spirit of the Ring was destroyed I became an ice-like shell of what I was, deftly hiding my heart of broken glass. It took the strength and patience of my friends to thaw out that bitter encasement and begin mending the shattered pieces of my broken soul."

~Ryou Bakura

~5 Hours After Seperation~

A smile is on my face. We're headed back to Cairo to catch our plane after seeing Atem to the Afterlife. Yugi, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Otogi, Moto-san, and I are all talking animatedly. Everything seems perfect. How could anything be wrong? I try to ignore the gnawing pain that is fighting to get free inside me. I won't let myself miss him. Finally, after so many years, I have my freedom.

~24 Hours After Separation~

The plane finally takes off. I'm pressed back into my seat as it picks up speed. And then we're flying, higher and higher above the ground until Egypt is a blanket of sand below us, infested with tiny spots of life that are cities, like weeds growing up out of the desert. The sun is already up, blazing a path of flame across the sky.

A few rows ahead of me in the plane Yugi-kun and his friends sit, chatting away, talking about all the amazing experiences they'd had with the spirit of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Atem. I'm jealous of how happy they sound, of their laughter. They continue to discuss the spirit, oblivious to my musings. They talk about how 'of course they'll miss him, but he's where he's supposed to be now.'

Of course.

As luck would have it, my ticket has me seated near the very back of the plane, away from Yugi and his friends. Away from my distraction.

Now that all of the excitement, the chaos of the duel between Yugi and the Pharaoh, and the bitter-sweet parting is over…there is nothing left to keep my mind occupied. The initial excitement, the happiness, has worn away. Reality, cold hard and unmerciful, has set in. I struggle to keep the carefree smile on my face, but I admit that it's hard. Very hard.

Because the simple truth is that I feel like I've been ripped in half.

I can't help but think that this isn't fair. How is it that I was the one who hated my "other half" (hated him more than anyone or anything), and I was the one who had no choice in what I could or couldn't do concerning him, and I was the one who was a slave within my own body for almost an entire year because of him…and yet I'm the one who can't handle the separation of our souls. I'm the one who feels like they've lost more than they've gained. I'm the one who can feel an empty gash in their soul like a festering wound where there used to be something dark and sadistic, but now there's only a black, empty void. I think it's going to swallow me from the inside.

How can that cursed spirit continue to spite me even now that he's gone? Why won't my memory of him leave as he did? It's like I can hear what he would say. I can imagine how he would laugh. But in reality there's just…nothing.

They should've told me, I think to myself. They should've at least warned me that they were planning on shredding me in two. At least I would've been prepared for the loss. Instead it was like a physical blow. When I first woke up and stumbled down the stairs of the resting place of the Memory Tablet, the pain of being alone was immediate. I haven't ever been so alone since my sister died. And it didn't help any that the first people I saw as I gained consciousness were the very same who had unknowingly committed me to a life of slavery to that parasite.

I sigh forlornly, unable to pretend that I'm completely thrilled at my newfound freedom any longer. I've never dealt well with change in any case, but I confuse myself. I should be happy, shouldn't I? I should be cheerful, or at least content. I was trapped in a nightmare and now I'm free of it, and that should make me glad…shouldn't it? Why can't I find just a tiny shred of hopefulness within me? Why can't I look within my own heart and see something besides that gaping hole where the darkest part of me used to reside?

Again, I have to acknowledge that the closest thing I've felt to this suffering is when my sister died. When I saw her…broken, bleeding, lifeless…it's the only comparison I can make to this empty sensation that fills me. I suppose that this is what it would feel like to lose a brother, someone close to me. Only the spirit and I weren't close. I hated him. He hated me. He used me, and tortured me. I fought him, opposed him at every turn until even that tiny right was also taken away from me. To say that there was any form of what Yugi and the Pharaoh had between us would be utterly false and a complete lie.

All I can conclude is that I feel empty. I don't feel the cheer that I know should come with my liberation. The silence in my own mind is screaming at me, louder than any of the soft chuckles, the quiet smirks, the harsh reprimands, the all too painful truths, the gently whispered lies… And I don't know when, or if, it will ever get better.

~2 Weeks After Seperation~

"The sky is so pretty today, don't you think?" Yugi asks, sitting back on the grass. I sit up, my arms wrapped around my knees, staring out over the glassy pond that is laid out before us. A pleasant summer breeze tugs on my hair and sends ripples flying out on the water before they settle and the pond becomes a strange mirror once more.

"I suppose." I reply monotonously, not bothering to look and see if it's true and the sky is pretty.

Yugi sighs contentedly, and the sound grates on my already frayed nerves. What would the spirit say if he knew I were spending time with Yugi-kun? "When I was little I would always find pictures in the clouds when we came to the park." Yugi tells me conversationally. I bite back the urge to tell him that I honestly don't care.

I don't know why I came to the park with Yugi. Furthermore, I don't know why I came here alone with him. It's the first time I've seen him since we've been back from our excursion to Egypt. I suppose I let him drag me out here because I had nothing else to do, and so I couldn't say with a clear conscience that I was busy. I'm too honest for that.

"Look! That cloud looks just like a Kuriboh!" Yugi suddenly says in excitement.

With a sigh of my own (though it's far from content) I humor him and look up into the sky where clouds trail like puffs of cotton. I follow the line of his finger and try to see a Kuriboh, but frankly they just look like clouds to me.

I raise an eyebrow and turn my face back to the still waters of the pond. "They all look like Kuribohs." I tell him callously, looking at the reflection of the almost perfectly round puffs of cloud dotting the pond. I know I must sound like I don't want to be here, and it's true that I don't want to be here, but I still feel bad as I see the embarrassed look that Yugi gives me; The same sort of embarrassment that a host has when he notices that his guests aren't enjoying the party.

He's never seen me this way. It must confuse him…after all, I've never seen me this way either. I don't know what's wrong; I just can't find the energy to be happy though. It's like I haven't been truly happy in so long that I don't remember how to summon up a smile, a light voice. I can't even force the façade that I used to wear so well onto my face, and there's no one around to force me to act like there's nothing wrong. I don't have to hide anything anymore. But I'm still hiding, despite it all. I hide the pain that just won't go away behind an unfamiliar mask of indifference.

Yugi sits up and scoots over so he's sitting beside me. I'm uncomfortably aware of how close he is to me. How long has it been since someone was actually sitting next to me, having a conversation with me because they wanted to? I can't remember.

His eyes are wide and concerned, and Yugi says, "Are you alright Bakura-kun?"

I stiffen immediately. "Don't call me that, Yugi." I say, my voice so hard that I surprise myself with it. Yugi cringes back, and I know who I must remind him of. I know who he sees right now, and I know it isn't me. I immediately regret the words, the way I said them, the way I can imagine my face looks. I don't want to look like that. I don't want to be associated with that image. Hard, eyes narrowed, angry… But I don't take it back.

"I'm sorry…Ryou-kun." He stumbles over my name, having never used it before. I'm surprised he even knows it. In Japan you don't call each other by first names unless you know each other that well. Like Jounouchi and Honda, but I know Yugi doesn't feel that friendly towards me. It doesn't matter though, because where I come from we use first names, and that's what I'm going to be called. I don't want to be known by his name, especially by Yugi.

"I'm sorry, Ryou-kun." Yugi repeats, looking down at his hands which are nervously pulling at the grass carpet we're seated on. "I didn't mean to…to remind you." He says hesitantly, as though afraid of how I might react. Did I come across as that unstable?

I frown, and shake my head. "Don't apologize, Yugi." I say, struggling to keep my voice soft and gentle…the way it used to be. "You didn't know."

We sit in silence for a while. The breeze picks up again, warmly pushing at our backs. It should have been a comfortable silence, but to me it seems awkward. There's too much tension between Yugi and I, the air seems thick with it.

Eventually Yugi speaks up again, his voice gentle. "I really am sorry for that. It was careless of me." He pauses, putting a hand on my arm. "I understand though."

A flare of anger, one that I once wouldn't have recognized as my own, fills me. "No you don't." I tell Yugi angrily, shaking his hand off of my arm and standing up. I shove my hands into my pockets so that Yugi won't see the way they're clenching almost convulsively, as though with a mind of their own.

Yugi follows my example and stands up, looking up at me with amethyst eyes. "I do though, Ryou-kun. I know what its like to lose part of—"

"No, Yugi, you don't understand!" I suddenly yell, unable to contain myself. "You can't understand what that's like!" My voice echoes, the yell reverberating off of the trees and water.

How can I make him see that he doesn't know what this is like? It isn't the same! He always knew what was happening. He knew that the Pharaoh had to move on, and he was prepared emotionally for that. He was building up for it ever since he and Atem came into contact!

Yugi wasn't ever under the impression that the Pharaoh was his 'best friend' because he was too gullible to believe whatever he was told.

Yugi never had to see all of his friends fall into unending comas at the hands of someone he couldn't escape.

Yugi never once had to go through trials of blood and darkness with his other half without knowing why except for that the other being 'had his reasons'.

Yugi was never once connected so deeply with his other half that the he could be completely eradicated, locked in the fathomless ends of his own soul, at a whim.

And most of all Yugi never once had to deal with the pain of losing the only solid, unmovable, unshakable, unchanging thing in his life!

I turn away, lost in my thoughts. I know I'm being unreasonable. Yugi can't understand, so how can I hold him accountable? I shouldn't blame him…but I can't help but be angry. I don't want his sympathy, and I don't want his pity, and I do not want him to even try and comprehend how empty I feel.

And I do blame him. I look at him, intending to tell him this, but his eyes pierce me. They're hurt, remorseful, pained…worried. I've never seen him so despaired. I feel a similar expression appear on my face as I look down and meet his gaze, before I can put it behind my own indifferent masquerade. I don't need to tell Yugi that I blame him for my own inability to handle myself. He knows.

I feel sick. What have I come to, where I yell at people whom I'd always longed to be friends with simply for showing some anxiety for my cause. I turn, walking swiftly away. I can't look at him anymore. Everything is rushing at me at once, and I know that I can't handle it.

"Ryou!" He calls after me, but I don't hear him, too lost in dark shadows of guilt and loss that are growing within me.

~6 Months After Separation~

I close the door of the tiny office where I work, locking it behind me as my manager asked. I'm the last one to leave, and generally I'm the first one to arrive back in the morning as well. I don't really have to work overtime, but since my father stopped paying full rent on my apartment a few months ago I haven't had any money to spare for anything but bare basics. I had to step up and fill in the holes, so I got a better job. I do far more work than any of the other employees as well.

I push my coat, a long black trench coat that had been hanging untouched in my closet, behind me. The bottom floats around my feet, as though trying to defy gravity. I have the collar turned up against the chill wind that seems to bite even through clothing. Winter has come early this year. Though it's only early November, a thin layer of snow covers the ground. The roads and sidewalks are slick with ice; I should know having slipped enough coming down the walkway from my apartment.

I pause, glancing up at the sky as more snow begins to fall. When I look back down, something across the street catches my eye. I brush my hair away from my face, and narrow my eyes to see through the thickening white flakes that are endlessly twirling down from the clouds.

Of course I immediately recognize the black hair, its red accents, and the outlandish blonde bangs. It seems Yugi has been growing his own hair out. The blonde reaches farther out into the black locks of hair that stand almost straight up on his head. If anything he looks more like the Pharaoh then he ever did. He's wearing casual clothing, looking at me through the snow from across the street. I see the recognition on his face, and something else…

I grit my teeth in frustration. Once again, Yugi isn't seeing me when he looks at me. He sees that thing that used to inhabit my body. I take a deep breath; I tell myself that I can't be angry with Yugi. I probably do look more like the spirit then I ever have before, and so I really can't blame him. After all, when I looked at him I immediately saw the Pharaoh, so I must expect the same on my side. And I have to admit that Yugi does make a valiant effort. He manages to tuck away that shocked, fearful recognition, and he puts on a timid smile and, to my surprise, he even waves in my direction.

I start to lift my hand to return the gesture, but he turns, going on his way, and I let my hand fall back to my side dejectedly. What does it matter anyways? I haven't seen Yugi since that day at the pond. Yes, obviously I've seen him in passing. Domino isn't that big, but I haven't spoken to him, nor has he made any effort to speak to me. That's the first time he's made any form of a greeting to me in nearly six and a half months. It seems like an eternity.

I frown, turning my gaze to the ground in front of me to avoid patches of ice, and begin the walk home. I can't help that the way Yugi looked at me troubles me. I mean, he never gave me that look when I did host that spirit. Why, now that I'm my own person, does he look at me as though he thinks I'm about to start laughing hysterically and begin ranting about Shadow Games?

I step inside my dark apartment. The nearly bare walls seem to glare at me, reminding me of my solitude. Taking off my long coat and hanging it up in the hall, I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror. My hair tumbles around my face, framing it, accenting it. The white strands look almost silvery in the bright bathroom lights. My eyes have changed since I first came to Domino. They used to be large, wide open, so that I looked constantly surprised or pleased. Now, as I've aged, they're thinner. In fact, my entire face is narrower than it used to be, the features more pronounced. My body is slimmer too. My slender hands brush over the almost unnaturally pale skin of my face. I feel like I'm looking at a familiar stranger.

I must have looked like this for a while—people don't change overnight—but I hadn't really noticed the small ways in which my appearance was changing until now. I turn my head, looking at myself; under scrutiny, I can pick out all the similarities of appearance between me and him. I can also find all the small differences.

Suddenly I realize that I don't want Yugi to look at me like he did today. I don't want him, or anyone, to look at me and see him. I want to be me. My own person, like I know I used to be, and yet I know that I'm less of my own person now then I ever was before. In an attempt to fill the empty spot that was left when the spirit of the Ring was destroyed, in my attempt to get rid of that pain of loss, I became what I hated. I unconsciously became more like him. Cold, indifferent, callous, and cynical. In so doing, I lost what I used to be.

Where was the kind, caring, always-looking-for-a-new-friend Ryou? Where was the boy who would write letters to his dead sister because he loved her just that much? Where was that lonely child who would give anything to see his friends smile, and to listen to their laughter even if he couldn't share in it?

Tears glisten in my eyes in my reflection, before my eyes blur and I can't see anymore. The hole inside me tears wide again, the stitches of indifference and sought-after seclusion ripping away. I lean over the sink, my silvery hair flow over my shoulders, and let the tears drip down my nose, biting my lip to keep from sobbing completely.

"No." I abruptly choke out, and swiftly wipe away the tears. One glance, a small wave from an acquaintance, and I'm all over? Pathetic. Crying will do absolutely nothing for me. (I can't help but wonder if that's me speaking, or what I imagine he would say.)

My gaze returns to the mirror, my cold mask returns, once again I see myself as Yugi sees me. Taking a deep breath, I go back into my small kitchen and grab my cell phone. I'm about to dial when I remember…I don't know what Yugi's number is. I'd never had reason to memorize it, but I had written it down once. I try to recall where I'd put the tiny slip of paper, but it occurs to me that I've probably thrown it away already. What reason would I have had to keep it?

I groan, thinking that I'll just give up. Yugi probably wouldn't want to talk to me anyways. He probably thinks that I'm a lost cause in terms of friendship. Then I see an image of me in my mind, but it isn't me. It's him. Plan B, I go to the phone book and look up the Kame Game Shop.

The phone rings for such a long time that I think no one will answer, but then I hear the other line pick up.

"Kame Game Shop." Says a baritone voice that I hardly recognize. Yugi's voice has changed since we spoke last. It isn't as small, though it still isn't as bass as the Pharaoh's was. It certainly doesn't sound as carefree as it used to. I almost hang up, but force myself to wait.

"Hello?" Yugi says again.

"Hello Yugi." I say. I wonder what is going on in his head right now.

Obviously it's not recognition because he immediately asks, "Who is this?"

I sigh, "It's me… Ryou"

There's a long pause, and then Yugi says, "Oh."

Oh? That's it? He has nothing more to say after six months? His reaction isn't disappointment, it isn't happiness either. It isn't even really surprise or shock. It's just…Oh.

I don't know what to say, and it seems that Yugi isn't planning on expanding upon his "Oh".

"I saw you today." I try lamely, rolling my eyes at myself. Obviously Yugi knows I saw him. I feel like I'm making a bad situation worse with every action I take. This shouldn't be this hard, but it is for some reason. It's like there's a wall between us, and I have this terrible, gut-twisting feeling that the wall was built almost single-handedly by me and not the other way around.

"Yeah." Yugi says. Thankfully he continues this time. "Listen…Ryou…" He emphasizes my name, and I cringe internally. "I'm busy running the shop, so if there was something you needed…" He trails off, hinting at me that he has better things to do then talk to a broken teenager who can't find it in himself to mend.

"Well, I was just wondering if you would like to go for lunch tomorrow." I suggest sardonically, trying to sound like I really don't care, and that this would be time out of my day that I could use for something else. Where this will take the situation we're in, I have no clue. But I finally realize that I'm trapped in this hole that I've dug, and I just need someone to throw me a rope. Yugi is the only one I can think of, unfortunately for him.

"I don't know. I'm really busy." Yugi says emotionlessly. A fear grips me. The fear of rejection I suppose. Isn't Yugi the one who is always supposed to be the 'good' friend? The one who's always there to help? And he's going to reject me. I can just feel it, hear it in his voice. It's like the sun was just beginning to come up and I was about to see the dawn, out of my blackest night ever…and I've suddenly gone blind.

My voice comes out weak, so different from the strong, apathetic voice I've been utilizing these past months. "Please." I practically whisper into the phone, revealing to Yugi a sliver of what's on the inside of this ice-cold granite person.

There's a long pause. It's too long…I'm about to hang up when Yugi sighs and says, "What time, Ryou-kun?"

Something inside of me practically sings. It's been so long since I've done anything, or gone anywhere, with anyone but myself. It makes me feel…glad. "Noon, at the burger place in Domino Central." I say, my cynical voice slipping back into place. I can't really help it; I've used it for so long it comes naturally.

"Okay. Bye." He hangs up and I quickly follow his example. I stand there for a minute to let it soak in… And that's when I start to have doubts. What am I thinking? Yugi probably pities me, something I hate, and that's the only reason he agreed to hang out with me. He probably feels bad for me because he knows that I have no social life and I've become a workaholic—and a cold, rude one at that. I begin pacing as my thoughts get increasingly stressed and erratic.

In all likeliness the lunch tomorrow will be completely gauche and awkward. Just like the day at the pond. What if there are repercussions from that day? All I need would be for Yugi to bring that up. Furthermore, what if he comments on how much I've changed…how much I've become like what I hated? What am I supposed to say then!

'Why thank you Yugi, I've always wanted to look and act just like my darker half.'

Absolutely not. But then I can't say that I hate my appearance, either. I'm insecure enough as it is, regardless of how I come across, without adding self-consciousness onto the list.

Suddenly I take a deep breath. Everything will work out. No matter how strange it is for both of us, it will only be an hour and then we can move on with our lives for better or worse.

~.~.~.~.~.~

I'm sitting in a booth at the burger shop in Domino Central. I'm also alone. I have a seemingly permanent grimace on my face, which appeared when a young waitress came skipping over to my table, already flustered by my exotic appearance, and asked to take my order with a bubbly voice only to realize that I was not that Prince Charming that she thought I would be. Needless to say, she was very disappointed, and I was very annoyed.

I glance at the clock outside the window. It's nearly 12:30. I don't want to leave, because I admit that there's just a tiny glimmer of hope inside me, begging me to wait and see if maybe Yugi is just late, but the larger portion of me is angry because I just have a feeling that Yugi isn't coming. It's like a girl who's been stood up on her first date. Completely different of course, but I would assume the feeling is mutual. Disappointment and anger all wrapped into one.

I glance out the window again, trying to catch a glimpse of crimson-black-and-blonde hair. I don't. I finger the salt shaker between my hands, twirling it around. Finally I stand up. I shouldn't have expected Yugi to come, and I shouldn't have allowed myself to get my hopes up. In the end, what are hopes except polished knives that turn on you the moment you're down?

I go up to the counter, intending to order a drink to go and then getting back to work when the door opens. The little bell rings, and an employee somewhere yells, "Welcome to Burger Central!"

Suddenly a teen is standing beside me. "Hey Ryou-kun. It's been a while." Yugi says, looking up at me, although not by much. Yugi has also grown. A lot. He must have had a major growth spurt, and I mean that very literally, because he's shot up almost a foot or more since I've last seen him.

"Sir?" The boy behind the counter reminds me that I was mid-order. I look at him, narrowing my eyes. He flinches slightly.

"Forget my order." I tell him flatly, and walk back over to the table that I was sitting at.

I look at Yugi, and he looks at me. I can't help that think that he looks just like the Pharaoh. Of course there are differences. The eyes for one. They aren't the same, but they have that certain calm that the Pharaoh's always had… His hair is still slightly different as well, although his growing it out has made it nearly identical. All things considered, they could be twins. I'd wager they're even the same height. And then, as though of its own accord, the first thing that slides onto my face is a sneer as I say, "You do know how to read a clock, right?" It's like I'm trying to prove to Yugi that I'm just like my other. Everything I say and do is screaming, 'Look, it's the Spirit of the Ring Reincarnate!'

The look Yugi gives me is…almost disappointed. It's as if he was testing me, and I think I just failed. I concentrate on what my face looks like, and try to form it into a 'remorseful' expression, and say softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that how it sounded."

"It's fine." Yugi says, tapping his fingers. "I'm sorry that I was late. The game shop was crowded and I had to serve all the customers before I could leave."

"What about your grandfather, couldn't he have filled in?" I ask.

Yugi looks out the window. "My grandpa is getting old. He says he's fine, but he has a hard time walking, and he had a heart attack a few months ago. I'm just worried about him; I don't want him to overwork himself." He stopped abruptly, becoming aware that he was over-explaining.

We sit for a while in silence, waiting for the waitress to come back over to take our orders. "You know, you look just like the Pharaoh." I said conversationally, ripping up a napkin into tiny pieces in front of me.

Yugi laughed slightly. "A fact that Anzu likes to point out every time she sees me." He looked at his hands, a wistful gaze in his eyes. "I'm afraid that she only sees the Pharaoh when she looks at me, and that she isn't seeing me."

If only Yugi knew that I felt exactly the same way, only it was he who was the culprit, and not a love struck girl.

As though he read my mind Yugi suddenly says, "But you must know how that feels, Ryou." There's a glint in his eyes. Again I get the feeling that Yugi is testing me, seeing how much I really am like the Ring-spirit.

I don't know what Yugi expects me to say, so I simply shrug. Thankfully the waitress, bouncy and bubbly again, comes over to take our order. Having established that I wasn't interested she treats me brusquely, and her eyes are practically glued to Yugi who's blushing like a tomato.

I grin, a feral wolf like smile that I picked up from (once again) him. "It seems that Anzu isn't that only one interested, Yugi-kun." I say with a laugh as the waitress leaves to get our food.

Yugi smiles also, a serene smile, ignoring my sarcasm. Once again, we're left in silence. The food comes back; we eat it quietly, making simple small talk about casual things. The weather, Kaiba's latest Duel Cycle—a completely mad invention in both our opinions—and our various activities: my job, his inheriting the Game Shop…Easy things. We carefully avoid topics like the past, our various alter egos, the Millennium Items. Those are too sensitive to be mentioned so casually.

We finish, and then we both sit there, not sure what to do. "Thank you for inviting me, Ryou-kun." Yugi says. It seems like a farewell, but we both just sit there, until a perfect catalyst comes through the door and gives me an excuse to leave.

"Yugi! Your grandpa said you were here with a friend…" Jou, who has just stepped in the door and made his loud and obnoxious announcement, cuts off abruptly upon seeing me sitting there across from Yugi. I can almost count down to the moment when the recognition of not me, but him, becomes apparent. His bright brown eyes go wide.

I almost laugh, imagining how this must look. The Pharaoh and his enemy, sitting down to have a spot of lunch. By the look on Jou's face, that's exactly what it looks like as he gapes in curious surprise at Yugi, glares in suspicion at me, and stands there like a complete imbecile. Amusement and embarrassment are warring within me. I find some form of cruel humor in the fact that it's me spending time with Yugi and not Jounouchi…but it's a foolish amusement. Of course Yugi is only humoring my own request. And for that reason I find myself mildly embarrassed to be here with this teen that I haven't seen in more than half a year.

"Why are you hanging out with Bakura?" Jou asks in a sort of repulsed awe. I cringe visibly at his tone, and at that name. My name. His name. Our name… This just keeps coming back to haunt me. I vaguely wonder if I should get my name legally changed, since that's the only way I'll ever escape it.

I don't want to meet Jounouchi's hateful gaze. It's obvious that he's heard things about me from Yugi and has expounded upon them, creating an image of me that—I hope—is misleading.

But I quickly hide all these thoughts behind my over-used mask of disdain. "Hello Jounouchi-san." I sneer, earning myself a strange look between a glare and (again) disappointment from Yugi.

"Ryou-kun and I were just having lunch." Yugi explains.

"Yes," I agree. "And I apologize for taking time out of your day, Yugi-kun. I know that you have higher priorities." I slide out of the booth, fully intending to go up and pay the bill, then get out as soon as I can. Overall, it seems to me that the meeting was rather pointless. It got me nowhere.

I'm about to step out the door when a hand grabs my arm. I look back to see Yugi, staring at me solemnly. A slight smile appears on his face. "Would you like to come to the Game Shop tomorrow, Ryou-kun? I just got this new RPG I've wanted to try out."

Jounouchi looks at Yugi in shock, and I mimic his expression. My eyes go wide, and I can feel my disguise drop for just a few moments. A tiny spark of something inside of me warms. "Sure." I say hesitantly. "That would be…fun." At that Yugi releases my arm and I turn to go.

The last thing I hear as I step out the door is Jou saying, "What the heck, Yugi!" And it puts a smile, a real, genuine smile that my face hasn't known in ages, on my face.

~One Year After Separation~

I look up at the sky, a deep azure canvas traced with wisps of white cloud. The sun warms my pale skin. I'm immediately glad that I took off from work early. I wouldn't want to miss out on such a perfect day. Of course, I won't be out in the perfect weather for long.

I meet Yugi and Anzu at the park. Yugi smiles upon seeing me, and Anzu waves to me. I return the gesture.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask them.

Yugi stands and pulls Anzu to her feet, linking his hand with hers. "Yeah." He answers. "I'm glad that Ishizu decided to bring the Egypt Exhibit back to Domino. I never got a chance to get a really good look at it."

We begin walking to Domino Museum. We don't really talk as we make our way across town, but we don't need to. The silence is a comfortable silence, one that doesn't need to be filled with words.

I'm lost in my own thoughts anyways.

I find myself thinking about how…nice this is. It's just nice. This is what friends should be. Being able to go places, but not having the need to chatter non-stop. Just the company of one another is enough. My mind traces back over the past year, possibly the worst year of my life if I'm being honest.

My time without the spirit of the Ring was worse then my time with him…until that day that I called Yugi. It was after that that things started to change, to finally get better, to finally become more of what they were supposed to be.

We arrive at the Museum and step inside. The Egypt Exhibit is in the underbelly of the Museum so we go downstairs. Waiting there for us are some familiar faces. Ishizu Ishtar stands before a display of Egyptian Weaponry. Rishid has his hand on her shoulder and is speaking to her quietly. Across the room is one more person.

Malik Ishtar sees us as we enter the room and jogs away from the display he was examining to greet us. He's wearing a deep green tank top that, unsurprisingly, leaves at least an inch and a half of his midriff bare, and a pair of dark tan cargo pants that bag around his shoes. His face is happy as he comes up to us... I recall the way he looked in Battle City, the time I saw him down on the platform of Kaiba's Dueling Zeppelin as I struggled to understand my surroundings. He looked arrogant then, ambitious, ruthless. Now he just looked like a happy teenager.

"Yugi, Anzu!" He greets them in genuine pleasure. Then his violet gaze turns on me. "Wow, Ryou." He exclaims, eyes wide. He brushes his blond hair away from his face as though to get a better look at me. "You look exactly like Bakura."

I freeze. The room seems to hold its breath, or at least that's what it seems like to me. Yugi looks at me, concern appearing in his eyes. It's been a long time since I've been compared to my other, even by myself. Malik's blunt statement has picked at the stitches holding closed the hole in my soul. Once again, a cold seeps through me. But I push it back. I refuse to be defined by him again.

A smile, and to my surprise it's an indisputably real smile, breaks on my face. "I guess it depends on how you look at it." I tell him. Malik, oblivious to the nerve he'd touched, leads us over to Ishizu and Rishid.

I sigh to myself. The hole is still there, inside me. That place where Bakura used to be. But Yugi's warmth took the place of that iciness that was consuming what I was. Because of his willingness to try and accept me, despite how shattered and utterly broken I was, I've been able to finally begin to get better. I'm my own person now, and I owe everything to Yugi. I know exactly what I would be if he'd refused to meet with me that day, and it scares and disgusts me. Now when I look in the mirror it is no longer a reminder of what he was and what I am and what was and is and will be. I've rid myself of that cold indifference that I let overtake me…all because of the friend that I'd thought turned his back on me.

And for the first time in my life, rather then crack or break or shatter, I believe that I'm mending.

The End

A/N: Because this was Ryou alone I wanted a look at Ryou's perspective on a more personal level, hence the 1st person present tense.

PLEASE REVIEW! My goal, quite honestly, is five reviews. I'm averaging 3-per-story which is a rather small number for me. I used to get 9-15 per One Shot. Is my skill declining, or is it the waning age of the YGO! Fandom? In any case, PLEASE Review and tell me your thoughts. If you liked this and want more of the Broken Glass Saga, see Cracks, Breaking, and Shattered.