When Bakura woke up the next morning, Yami was gone. But there was a small pouch beside him, and two words engraved into the sandy ground.
'Thank You'
Bakura smiled softly, and opened the pouch. His eyes widened. Inside was enough money to last him months.
He gazed back at Yami's parting words, and grinned. "No, thank you," he murmured, tightening his hold on the bag. "Thank you very, very much."
The next few days passed without any signs of his new friend, though Bakura check their designated meeting spot every day.
A week later, however, he spotted a familiar figure huddled on the ground.
"Yami?" he called, hurrying forward.
The boy looked up, a smile brightening his face upon spotting Bakura.
"'Kura! You're here!" he squealed delightedly. "I've been waiting for ages!" Jumping up, he bounded over to give the bigger boy a hug.
Bakura blinked. Whatever he had expected, it was not this. "Uh…yeah. Hi."
Yami grinned up at him, eyes sparkling. "I sneaked out," he declared triumphantly, as if it was the biggest, most important thing Bakura would ever want to know about.
"Huh?" the other youth asked blankly.
"I sneaked out!" Yami repeated, looking very please with himself. "I got past the guards, and Father doesn't know where I am."
Bakura's eyes widened. "But they'll come looking for you!"
"No, they won't. They won't even know I'm missing until sometime tomorrow, at the earliest."
"Why?"
"Because they never notice me. I locked myself in my room one time, and nobody cared enough to come find me for days." The prince looked defeated. "I'm so small. Father always tells me he wanted a bigger son, one who'll make him proud, and do all the things I can't."
Bakura felt uncomfortable, not knowing what to say. "Well…you wanna come to town with me? I was just going…"
Yami lit up. "Wow, can I? That'd be so awesome! I've never been to town before!"
The bigger boy grinned at his enthusiasm. "I'm glad you put on civilian clothes. I'd never know how to disguise you."
Yami grinned at the praise. "I thought it'd be a good idea."
"Let's do something about that hair, though…"
Half an hour later, Bakura walked into town with his friend by his side. Yami's hair was now bunched up into a short ponytail, carefully tucked so that only his ebony hair was visible. He was practically bouncing beside his friend.
"Lookit that! Wow!" Yami scampered over to a man selling kittens. "Ohhh! I wish I had one! I love cats!" the prince reached over and picked one up, cuddling it.
"Yami!" Bakura hissed. "Drop it!"
The boy looked up. "But why?"
"Just do it! Now!"
Sensing the urgency, the boy dropped the kitten gently into the basket, and allowed Bakura to drag him off. He missed the infuriated look on the salesman's face.
"What's going on? I was just hugging the kitty," Yami frowned.
"In case you've forgotten, cats are sacred. Only the rich can buy them! Hugging one that's not yours is…is…just not acceptable! Especially if you're going to but it!"
"Ahhh…" the smaller boy muttered, realization dawning.
Just seconds later, he had recovered, and was bounding off again.
Bakura spend the rest of the afternoon trying to keep track of a hyper prince who wanted to look at everything.
At last, exhausted, he and Yami made it back to their meeting place. By then, the stars were glittering in the sky.
"I had fun today, 'Kura. It was the best day of my life." Yami beamed at his friend. "Thank you."
Bakura waved a hand dismissively, blushing. "Ahh… it was nothin'. Anytime."
"Really?" Yami asked hopefully.
"Yeah. It…was fun for me, too…"
The younger child yanked the bigger one into a tight hug. "See you later, then!" and he skipped off.
Bakura shook his head, grateful for the darkness that hid his flushed cheeks.