A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long in getting this chapter out. A thousand apologies. If you're still reading this then you have my eternal gratitude and a promise to update more sooner than last time.

Warnings: Starting to slightly progress more and more into yaoi. Nothing explicit, thought. But, all the same, if you don't like yaoi then don't read. (A Note to AirGirl Phantom- I ask you to please bear with me- I know how you feel- I originally was not into yaoi, myself. And so, I can relate. I'm sure if you stick with this though- you might enjoy it.)
And- another warning: Slightly profanity. (As with Bakura)


Ryou had already changed into a fresh set of clothes and just finished tying his shoes, ready to leave for the grocery store when the phone rang. He quickly went to answer it, taking short note that the Caller ID said it was from Yugi's grandfather's game shop. Ryou was actually surprised that Yugi would be up this early but didn't give much thought about it.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver.

"Ryou? This Yugi's grandpa," said an unmistakably old voice. Ryou blinked, confused as to why Solomon Mutou would call him.

"Yes, Mr. Mutou. This is Ryou. Was there something you needed?" he asked, trying to make sense of the call.

"Actually, Ryou a peculiar situation just came up that you might be interested in."

"And what is that?"

"Well, Bakura just arrived on our doorstep, asking to be let in and claiming that you kicked him out of the house because you were taller than him, or something to that effect." With those words, Ryou heard another voice speak out from the background. It issued out of the phone quite clearly with its loud volume.

"That's not what I said, you old buffoon!" barked Bakura's voice. "I said that he kicked me out because I was taller than him, not the other way around." Ryou heard Solomon Mutou sigh, as any other old man would do when dealing with short-tempered, ancient Egyptian spirits. All the while, Ryou was doing his best in trying not lose his temper again. Since Bakura had left the house, Ryou had been in peaceful mood. Never mind the nagging feeling of guilt in the back of his head. When Bakura was gone, stress was gone. But when Bakura was there, stress was there as well. It was inevitable. And yet, Bakura had to creep back into his life by bothering his friend's grandfather? And on what grounds? Saying that Ryou had kicked him out over a stupid matter like height? Really, Bakura was starting to act like a petulant child.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with him, Mr. Mutou," Ryou apologized. "But, I can assure you that I did not kick him out because he thinks that he's taller than me."

"But you did kick him out?" Ryou hesitated, thinking that he had already made that much obvious already.

"Well, yeah-"

"Why, Ryou? Don't you think that was a bit harsh, considering you knew Bakura had no where to go? And you even made him go leave barefoot when it's cold outside."

"Yes, it was quite harsh," agreed Bakura's voice from the background. Ryou's hand, that seemed to be suddenly balled into a tight fist, was shaking with frustration. Why was he putting the blame on him?

"I didn't make him leave the house barefoot," Ryou said, defending himself. "He could have put shoes on himself if had the brains to do it."

"Ryou, you know Bakura doesn't know very much of our world. He wouldn't know that he would have needed shoes." Ryou was speechless, momentarily stunned at why Solomon Mutou would stick up for the evil spirit who tried destroying the world- twice.

"I didn't think about it when I kicked him out," Ryou said, trying not yell with his newfound temper. What was wrong with him today? He usually wasn't so easily upset. Was it because lack of proper sleep?

"Well, why did you kick him out in the first place?"

"Because," Ryou said, starting to become red in the face. "He was complaining about everything and he wouldn't do anything for himself-"

"He's a spirit who hasn't had a human body to himself before. Of course he wouldn't know how to do anything for himself."

"It's not that he didn't know, it was because he was too lazy-"

"Ryou, don't you think you're acting a little immature about the whole thing?" Solomon asked.

"Yeah, immature!" came the peanut gallery of Bakura.

And then, Ryou couldn't help it. He blew up again, for the second time that morning. And at Yugi's grandfather, no less.

"I'm sorry for not wanting to house a five-thousand year-old ancient Egyptian spirit who tried to take over the world, acts like a petulant child, and not to mention took over my body and mind for the past four years! If it bothers you so much, I'll be by later to pick him up if babysitting him is too much of a job for you!" And then, with a press of a button, he hang up the phone.

He stood in the middle of the living room, panting heavily, chest rising and falling as his ears thudded with a boiling anger. After a few minutes, he sighed, placing the phone back on the side table that stood next to the couch.

He felt guilty, extremely guilty now for yelling at Mr. Mutou. He would definitely be apologizing to him. Him and Yugi for leaving Bakura to wander off on his own. It definitely wasn't a good idea to kick him out. What was wrong with him? Why was he snapping so easily, small things setting off his temper with a drop of a hat? Just because he was called immature? Well, it wasn't the first time that morning; Ryou remembered Bakura calling him the same thing before he'd left.

So, what to do now? Take Bakura back? Ryou glanced at the piece of paper crumbled in his palm- the shopping list. Maybe he would go to the store before he stopped by the game shop, in order to calm down enough so he wouldn't risk yelling at anyone any more. It was the best idea he could think of. With a sigh, Ryou grabbed his jacket and his wallet that held the credit card to the bank account that his father left money for him to live by in. And shortly, he was out the door.

-0-0-0-

Bakura watched as he saw Grandpa Mutou wearily replace the phone back on the hook.

"I think it's safe to say that Ryou seems to be quite upset about this," he told them. Bakura did nothing to suppress his smirk.

"I told you he got bent out of shape over nothing. But that's just Ryou for you, I suppose." No one seemed to be paying any attention to him and he frowned- he was sitting right there, dammit! But before Bakura could say anything else, Yugi spoke up.

"What did Ryou say, Grandpa?" he asked. The old man sighed, pressing his temples together.

"According to Ryou, he kicked Bakura out not because of height differences but rather because Bakura was supposedly acting like a petulant child-" Bakura rose to his feet in a flash.

"Petulant child?! He was the one that got ticked off because I made the comment that I was taller than him!" The other three in the room merely glanced up at his outburst and proceeded to ignore him.

"So, what now, Grandpa?"

"Well," he hesitated, tapping his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Ryou did say he would come by later to pick him up. But until then, I suppose Bakura will be staying here." Bakura frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

He hated when the humans did this; talked about you as if you weren't standing three feet away from them. When he had been an immortal spirit of darkness, no one had dared show him this amount of disrespect, as if he was just like any other insignificant and mortal being that walked this planet.

He slumped back in the chair again, not paying attention to anyone else as they conversed quietly on something about Ryou's state of mind.

But the factor still stood- he was mortal, just like the other insignificant beings that walked this planet. He couldn't differentiate himself from the rest now. He was one of them. Horribly, mortally, and despicably one of them.

Bakura gave a growl of dissatisfaction. What was this? This, these feelings of complete loathing, coming from him? It wasn't him. It couldn't be. No, these were the feelings of resentment, the feelings of being disgracefully human. How pathetic.

"Bakura doesn't look too happy," noted Yami, breaking Bakura away from his identity crisis. The former immortal evil spirit turned his attention to the former pharaoh, unleashing a disgruntled glare. And then, feeling a profound urge to vent, began to speak rapidly.

"You call me that- Bakura. You all do. But is that really my name? Who am I? Just an ancient spirit that resided in an old piece of enchanted jewelry that took over the life of the person that originally bore that name. At least, that was me. Now, I'm just some God forsaken mortal who doesn't even have a name, a proper name to say the least. You look at me and you think 'Bakura.' But that's Ryou's name, not mine. When you see me, you don't think of that unbearably hideous creature you saw in the memory world. I was known as Zorc Necrophidius, Lord of Shadows, Master of Darkness. But, who am I now? I'm suppose to be dead! And now look at me: a pathetic human. Surely a sick joke played by some other cosmic force who has power over these types of things. Back in ancient Egypt, I played on the hatred and anger of some peasant to rise to power, used him as pawn. And now look at me! In the body of his reincarnation! I'm not human, never was. Just an evil spirit. But now I'm stuck in this pathetic body!"

And, with that, Bakura resolved to continue glaring down at the folded arms across his chest. Yugi looked from Yami to his grandfather.

"I think Bakura is upset about this whole thing as well," said the brat's voice. Bakura tried ignoring them all, his eyes set in sharp angles. But then, for some inexplicable reason, Yami felt a need to give one of his sappy life lessons to Bakura.

"Bakura, I think you need to realize something else," he said. Bakura didn't look up, just felt his frown deepen into a scowl. And, for some unexplained reason, Yami took that as an invitation to keep talking.

"I'm suppose to dead as well-" Bakura rose to his feet again, abruptly stopping him.

"Save it, pharaoh," Bakura hissed, turning his back to them. "Quite frankly, I don't care to hear your Sally-sob story." He took a step away from them, intending to go and sit by himself in the room that made up the game shop.

"Bakura," Yami said, in a low, warning tone. "I'm only trying to help."

"Help with what, might I ask?" Bakura demanded, whirling around to face him. "Help remind me that I'm just one of you pathetic humans?" He scoffed. "As if Ryou didn't do that already."

Bakura hadn't meant to say that last statement. In a very human-like way, it slipped out with his rush of anger. And because so, his face slightly reddened. However, the others didn't seem to notice his slip-up, taking that his coloring face was a side effect of anger, rather than embarrassment. Even so, they still felt a need to bring it to attention.

"Ryou?" repeated Yugi. "What does he have to do with it?"

Bakura contemplated the miniature version of the pharaoh with somber eyes, his blush slowly disappearing. They might have noticed his reference to Ryou but that didn't mean they understood what it meant.

"Nothing," Bakura grumbled, dismissively waving a hand, and knowing full well he was lying. "Forget about it."

No one else had said a word after that. So Bakura felt that he was free enough to leave the room and ponder upon the complexities of his Ryou comment.

-0-0-0-

Ryou was dragging his feet, traversing his way to the nearest convenient store as the sharp wind bit at his pale, exposed cheeks- stinging them red.

He was racked up with guilt about yelling at Solomon Mutou. Really, he hadn't met too. This was really the first time his temper had gotten the best of him in such short amount of time. What was wrong with him? It was as if he wasn't Ryou, as if the past four years had inevitably changed him into someone that wasn't him.

Another gust of wind blew and Ryou shivered, drawing himself further into the confines of his jacket.

For the past four years, there was always the worrying suspicion of losing his mind to the ancient spirit living within him, no matter what he did with the Millennium Ring. He would always come back, always come back…

He had his life stolen from him, his adolescence taken. Someone had stolen his identity a countless number of times. And that someone was Bakura, the evil spirit who had become human while at the same time took the namesake of Ryou, his host.

Ryou didn't snap at people. Ryou didn't yell. Ryou didn't lose his temper. Ryou wasn't easily offended.

So who was he? He was Ryou, wasn't he? Wasn't he? Ryou Bakura?

And, Ryou was suppose to be straight, wasn't he? But those thoughts of Bakura, those feelings for Bakura contradicted all of that. So, was he not Ryou, then? Was he just a shadow of the former Ryou? Or, was it that it had been quite some time before Ryou had his own life, not shared by a spirit, that he didn't remember who he was?

Who was Ryou?

Ryou bit his lower lip, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, still clutching at the piece that was his shopping list.

The old Ryou made lists, shopping lists, to-do lists, lists of Christmas presents. The old Ryou had the annoying habit of waking up at unbelievably early times, no matter what the time was that he went to bed. The old Ryou ate Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, whenever he didn't feel like cooking. The old Ryou… The old Ryou would have taken in Bakura last night and even given up his bed, no matter what the ancient spirit had done to him. The old Ryou was just nice like that, selfless, caring, quiet, introverted… The list could go on.

But this new Ryou? This new Ryou caused him to yell at people, to lose his temper, and even to question his sexuality. So who was he? The old Ryou or the new Ryou? And, who exactly was this new Ryou? To have a short temper, to yell at people with no plausible reason… it sounded an awful lot like Bakura.

Ryou stopped walking and lifted his face to see that he had made it to the store. People around him bustled with shopping carts and he stared blankly at the building, thinking.

Maybe there wasn't a transition of an old Ryou and a new Ryou. Maybe he was just a Ryou that had changed. Most people did, as they grew older. Maybe it was because he hadn't been fully there to witness the change he underwent that he hadn't realized it before.

Ryou was Ryou. He was no one else and that included Bakura. It didn't matter if Bakura held the same name as he did, it didn't matter if Bakura looked almost identical to him, it didn't matter if he felt this odd attraction to Bakura…

Involuntarily, Ryou's face became a slight shade of pink in response to the last thought. But, no one was around him to notice or even care. Besides, if someone did happen to witness his blush, it wasn't as if they could read his thoughts-

Ryou's face deepened in color as he realized that there was someone who could read his thoughts, the same someone who currently occupied them…

Mentally, Ryou tried sensing for Bakura's presence, wondering if he had possibly listened into his thoughts. However, to Ryou's relief, he could not feel Bakura's mind within his own and he took that as a good sign.

Hurrying along, Ryou rushed inside the store, anxious to get all that he needed and to get his mind off of his yami, should Bakura start to randomly listening into his private thoughts.


Oh dear, what could happen next? Hope you enjoyed it! And, I promise, next chapter will come quicker!

Review, please!

-Nuit Songeur