Ryou sat on one of the metal swings and was swinging slowly. The overcast sky matched his dark mood perfectly as he stared blankly at the dull park that was before him. It was drizzling, yet he didn't move to get out of the cold weather. He didn't want to get out of it. The emotions he had been feeling before the rain had started to fall had long been drowned out by his constant shivering, and he welcomed the numbness that came with it.

He continued swinging for a while longer before his feet dragged against the mulched ground heavily. His long white hair had long since become wet and matted, and his clothing was no better. His weary brown eyes drifted down to look at himself when they landed on the source of all his problems.

The millennium ring hung sadly around his neck. The aged gold was no longer warm against his chest as it had once been, and it no longer gleamed in a malicious nature. In fact, Ryou would often notice how heavy it had become. It was as if it still wanted him to remember what it had carried within it so many months ago.

That's right, Ryou thought sadly. The spirit that used to live in the ring is gone.

The people who knew him thought he was crazy for being so depressed about the spirit's absence. Marik, Ishizu, and Odion were nearly ecstatic when Marik's alto ego, Melvin, suddenly disappeared. They were so happy and relieved that they had taken everyone out to celebrate.

Yuugi had dueled Yami for the Pharaoh's place in the Afterlife, but Ra and the other Gods apparently wanted him to remain on Earth for a while longer. Ryou couldn't recall a time when Yuugi cried yet smiled so much. The two were still inseparable as they were before despite Yami getting his own body.

It seemed to Ryou that everyone was happy but him. What was worse was that he didn't even know why he felt so bad about the spirit's sudden departure. He felt sad even with everyone around his being so happy. He felt so empty even with his stomach being full of alcohol. He felt so… alone. It reminded Ryou of how life was before the spirit appeared before him, and he couldn't say he wanted to revisit that part of his life.

He glanced down at his wrists at the thought. Small, nearly faded lines wrapped around his wrists from many past suicide attempts. He was the only one who knew they were there. Well, that's how it was before the spirit came. He inevitably found out, and Ryou had gotten the scolding of a lifetime. He never truly understood why the spirit cared seeing how he put Ryou through so much shit, and he supposed he would never know.

Tears started to cloud his vision as he futilely fought them back. He wrapped a hand around the ring and brought it up to his face. His warm tears fell freely down his face and mixed in with the cold rain as he nuzzled the ring. When the spirit had been with him he had been cruel and rude, but at least Ryou wasn't alone.

That was the true reason as to why Ryou never threw the ring away. Yuugi would often ask why he didn't throw it out, and Ryou would always respond with, "It'll just find it's way back to me so there isn't a point." It was only after the spirit left did Ryou realize the true reason.

I miss his stupid, white hair that looked too much like mine, Ryou thought. I miss his berating tone whenever I'd do something stupid. More tears fell down his face as he continued, I miss his presence as he'd hover over my shoulder telling me to do awful things. Ryou was outwardly sobbing against the ring now. His final thought on the spirit broke him as it did every time. I miss him being my only companion dammit!

The rain continued its drizzling onslaught and cooled Ryou's face as each new wave of tears would emerge from their prison. A couple minutes had passed before he had calmed down. He felt even number than he had before, and he was grateful for the emptiness. He hated crying, but it worked it's magic every time. It was almost as good as taking a blade to his skin. Almost.

In fact, he would've started to cut again if he hadn't promised the spirit that he would never do it again. He chuckled humorlessly at the thought as he remembered back to the day the spirit had lectured him on the topic.

"What the Hell is this?" the spirit said harshly as he gripped Ryou's thin wrist. His dark brown, nearly black eyes glared down at the boy as he waited impatiently for an answer.

Ryou didn't bother trying to pull away, for he knew it would only piss the spirit off even more. It didn't help that he was stronger than Ryou. "I-I used to cut myself," Ryou said timidly. His eyes were hidden behind his bangs as he spoke, and he didn't dare meet the spirit's hard gaze. The spirit continued to glare at him, but his iron grip on Ryou's wrist slacked slightly. It was almost as if he were giving Ryou the choice of pulling away. "Before you appeared before me," Ryou continued, "My father had gotten sent to jail for a number of charges. Y'see, after my mom and sister died, he lost himself in alcohol and thieving and a whole bunch of other illegal stuff. Life was alright when he wasn't around, but his friend would often give him the bail money he needed to get out of prison. Whenever he was home, well, you've seen the scars on my back."

By now, the spirit had dropped his wrist completely, and Ryou missed the contact. "So you resorted to cutting yourself to relieve the pain you felt," the spirit stated. It wasn't a question, but Ryou nodded numbly anyway in reply. A silent moment when by before the spirit scoffed, yet it wasn't as cruel as it would usually sound. His berating tone was softer than normal as he spoke, "Don't do it again." Ryou's eyes widened in surprise at the spirit's words, and his head shot up to lock gazes with him. "Swear that you'll never do it again."

Ryou blinked as he comprehended the words. After a moment, he nodded and said, "I promise."

"Good," the spirit said harshly. His condescending tone was back, and Ryou was honestly glad to hear it. Hearing the spirit speak as he had been was a little weird. "You only have to call my name when you need something to release the pain on."

The pitter-patter of the now pouring rain brought Ryou back to the present. His tears were falling freshly anew as he thought about the spirit's voice that day. He'd do just about anything to hear the softness in it again. Hell, he'd do just about anything to simply hear his voice again. Soft or not.

I've called your name in my head so many times, yet you have never answered, Ryou thought grimly. A thought then occurred to him. I've called his name in my head but never aloud. I wonder… It was a long shot, but it always was. A small, almost unnoticeable spark of hope lit up within his soul. He stood from the swing and clutched the ring closer to his heart. The determination to summon the spirit rose within him, and he sent a quick prayer to Ra before yelling out into the rain the spirit's true name.

"AKEFIA!"

For a brief moment, it was as if time had stopped before continuing forward relentlessly. Ryou looked around for the spirit's form only to be disappointed yet again. His heart fell, and he dropped the ring back to his chest. I knew it wouldn't work, he thought. He didn't bother holding back the tears this time, and he turned to return to his apartment. He was nearly out of the park when a gruff, berating voice sounded from behind him.

"Yadonushi, what the bloody Hell are you doing out here in the rain?" Ryou's eyes widened, and he spun around. He froze where he stood upon seeing who was before him. The spirit that lived within the millennium ring looked just as he did all those months ago, and Ryou would be lying if he said that the spirit wasn't a sight for sore eyes. "What? Did I leave you speechless or something?" the spirit replied snarkily and with a condescending smirk.

Ryou would've usually scolded the spirit for being like that, but this time around was different. Instead, a huge watery smile came upon his face, and he rushed to give the spirit a hug. His skinny arms wrapped around the spirit's waist as he cried into his shirt. The spirit had to take a step back at the force of the impact, but he only huffed his annoyance. "Come on now," the spirit said jokingly. "You didn't miss me that much did you?" Ryou's happy sobs said differently, and the spirit simply sighed.

He returned Ryou's embrace hesitantly as if he weren't used to such contact and allowed the boy to cry. The rain had let up some time ago by the time the spirit was getting annoyed by Ryou's constant tears. "Are you almost done?" he asked irately. Ryou took a few steps back and wiped his eyes. A bright smile that rivaled Ra's brilliance shone on his face, and he nodded.

"Sorry, I was just so happy to see you again that I couldn't help myself," Ryou said sheepishly. The spirit snorted rudely, and Ryou welcomed the reaction. He had missed the spirit so much that Ryou was happy to get anything out of the spirit. Be it cruel words or rude gestures.

"Yeah, whatever," the spirit waved him off. His dark eyes suddenly took notice of Ryou's drenched clothes and the boy's shivering form. "We best be getting back to the apartment, yadonushi," the spirit advised with well-hidden concern. "I can't be here if you die of a stupid cold or something."

Ryou then looked down at himself to take in his appearance. He giggled at a thought unbeknownst to the spirit before looking up at him again. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's go." A stupidly happy grin had settled onto Ryou's face, and he knew that it wasn't going anywhere for a while. He practically skipped down the sidewalk on his way back home he was so happy, and he was glad no one was around to see his happy-go-lucky state.

The spirit floated wordlessly behind Ryou as the boy made his way back to the apartment. He watched as the excitement and happiness seemed to radiate off of him, and it was all because the spirit had returned to him. The spirit scoffed softly before returning to watch Ryou with warm eyes. He had seen how the boy had suffered in his absence, and it touched his heart. It felt nice to be needed after so long of being an outcast. The spirit then smirked at Ryou's skipping gate as he thought to himself.

Y'know, yadonushi, if you would've called my name sooner, you wouldn't have to of gone through so much pain.

Omg, I almost cried while writing this. Especially when Bakura returned to him. Like… seriously. I was tearing up. Anyway, I got the idea for this 1-shot after seeing a pic on google. (Yes, Google Pictures is the main reason for many of these 1-shots I shit you not lol.) In fact, I used that picture as the cover for this story as I usually do. Tbh, the ending wasn't supposed to be like that because I didn't want Bakura to come back, but I'm happy with how it turned out so I'll keep it like this. It's like hella cute. ;) However, I'm not exactly thrilled with Ryou's father's backstory 'cuz it seems overused, but I couldn't think of anything else so… yeah. Please REVIEW~! I want to know whether or not I made someone else tear up or cry! I can't be the only one lol~