A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay! The summer has been very busy for me, and I've been experiencing a lot of change. I went through extreme states of depression where I couldn't write at all, and I suffered from pure writer's block. Those aren't very good excuses, huh? Oh, well. Hopefully, this chapter is a lot better. This one is certainly longer than the previous ones.
Dragon2900: Ryou isn't possessed anymore because this story is post-series. Spoiler: At the end of YGO, Yami Bakura is destroyed. I think I mentioned something about him being destroyed in here somewhere… Sorry for the confusion!
Lily of the Shadow: Yeah, I got into ZIM for two years. Sadly, this obsession started just when it was getting cancelled! The fics in the IZ section have gotten lame. I don't even read the crap there anymore.
Distant Voice: Yep, the closest thing Ryou and Serenity ever did to a conversation was when Serenity commented something like, "He looks hurt. He needs a doctor." It's kind of sad that the two never talk to each other. If they did, I'd be happy to know about it!
Enjoy the fic!
Serenity opened her eyes to the sunlight shining on her fair skin. She lazily rolled over to look at the clock, and her eyes widened. I'm so terrible…Serenity thought miserably. I've become so tired due to all my stressing, that I do something so inconsiderate as to sleep in at a place that's not even my own!
She quickly rose to her feet and opened the door. Hurrying, she nearly ran into the living room. Bakura was sitting on his couch, television on, his head turned her direction. "How are you holding up?" he asked with a concerned expression on his face.
Barely meeting his eyes, Serenity placed her hand over the other. "I'm fine…" she answered, though she could tell Bakura did not believe a word she said.
He decided to change the subject. "It's after eleven--you slept in. That's good." His normal pessimism was drowned out since Serenity started living in his home. What she needed most now was hope, and he was not about to take what little she had—if there were any—away from her.
Her face grew a light pink. "I…I'm sorry. I should have—" She felt foolish as she nervously searched for words, but before she could say anymore, Bakura raised his hand.
"There's no need to apologize," Bakura grinned. "You were tired; you needed to sleep in." She nodded, and he motioned for her to sit next to him.
Serenity did so, and he looked at her. "Are you hungry?" he asked and she hesitantly nodded. She did not want to be a nuisance, especially to someone this kind.
"Unfortunately," Bakura paused, sighing. "I don't know how to cook for beans, or literal beans for that matter. The weirdest part is that I've lived in this very apartment for a little more than four years without gaining any knowledge of cooking." He shook his head at his incompetence. "What I do most of the time is go out for breakfast. Care to join me?"
She paused, taken aback at his request. "I…don't have anything with me. I mean, I wouldn't want to go out like this—"
"We can take care of that," he told her. "I have a spare toothbrush and brush if you need it. We'll stop by your house so you can get your things, alright?"
Serenity looked worriedly at Ryou. "I would hate for you to go through all that trouble for me, you really don't have to."
"Don't say such things!" He lightly scolded the auburn haired girl, much to her surprise. "Honestly, Serenity, I don't consider this work at all. You're not any trouble, and you never will be. Take advantage of what people offer you—you'll need as much help as you can get right now, especially in this difficult time. Besides, I don't mind helping out a sweet girl such as yourself."
She smiled gratefully. "T-Thank you so much."
Bakura modestly waved it off. "Anytime."
-----
Ryou patiently waited for Serenity to finish getting ready. That girl… she didn't deserve her older brother's death at all. He knew how dependent she was on him, how much she admired him. Joey needed Serenity just as much as she did him; she was his reason for pressing forward in all of his duels.
There had been a large change in her expressions since Joey's passing. Whatever Serenity did was tinted with sadness and pain. He could see the hurt in her eyes and feel the dread in her words. Her actions were emotionless and absent-minded in everything she did. Ryou felt an urge to know the details of her brother's death, but the last thing he wanted was to upset the poor girl.
Serenity appeared next to him a few seconds later, hair down as always. Ryou had previously called a taxi to transport them to Serenity's apartment, seeing as he did not own a car yet. Once it arrived, the two climbed in as Serenity gave the driver her address.
"After you get your stuff, do you want to come back here to drop it off, or would you not mind carrying it with you inside the restaurant?" Ryou turned his head in Serenity's direction.
"Oh, I can carry it in, it's fine." The white haired boy nodded understandingly at her response.
"How'd you sleep last night?" Ryou asked the girl next to him, who was currently fiddling with her hands, nervousness written all over her face.
"Uh…okay, I guess. I had a terrible, drawn-out dream about my brother again," Serenity said uneasily, looking downward. Her face lifted, and her eyes met his. "How about you?"
Ryou blinked a few times, remembering his own dream. "I slept okay, but like you, my dreams weren't all that pleasant." Thanks to him…
"Oh, I'm sorry…"
A bump in the road interrupted the awkwardness of the moment, as both passengers bounced in their seats. Serenity giggled at this.
"What's so funny?" Ryou asked her, happy and yet confused at her reasons for smiling.
Serenity shook her head. "Nothing…it's just…you kind of had a weird face when we hit that bump." She chuckled again. "I'm sorry, I just can't help it!"
"Oh, really?"
Ryou conversed with Serenity until the driver came to a stop. "This is it," she informed him, getting out. Ryou did the same, and followed her to the front door. It was wide open, and Serenity placed a hand on her forehead.
"I can't believe I left the door open…" She muttered to herself and then turned to Ryou. "You can come in if you want."
Ryou followed her inside and gazed at the walls around him. Serenity had already disappeared into the kitchen, allowing him to comfortably inspect the room he was standing in.
Clippings from newspapers that featured Joey were scattered across the walls. Photographs of Joey, Serenity, and other people individually and in group pictures were also hung around the clippings.
"You have fifteen new messages."
A male voice interrupted Ryou, and he jerked his head in the direction of the sound, startled. It was just the answering machine, he soon found out.
"Sent Saturday at 9:03 pm."
A voice he recognized as Mai Valentine echoed throughout the fairly small apartment. "Hey, Serenity, it's Mai. Just seeing how you were doing. Call me back, okay, sweetheart?"
The monotonous male voice continued. "Next message."
"Hey Serenity, this is Duke. I'm calling to check up on you. If you need anything, really, you can just pick up the phone and call me. I'm available, like, pretty much all of the time, so yeah. Just know that. So, remember, if you need anything, I'm here. Even if you need some company, I'm here. Alright? Bye."
"Hey Serenity, this is Tristan…"
Serenity walked into another room, with the messages still playing. "Boyfriends?" Ryou asked teasingly.
"Nope," Serenity answered, bringing out a duffel bag. "Just, you know… Duke and Tristan."
Ryou nodded. Even he could tell that those two had been fighting for Serenity's affections for years. Joey was never too happy about this. In fact, he'd threaten them every time they made even a comment.
He waited for a few minutes, and couldn't help eavesdropping on the messages being played. Tristan, Duke, Tristan, Duke, Duke, Duke, Tristan, Duke… Those boys wouldn't give up, would they?
Serenity was obviously not paying attention. He had seen her go down a hall, but he had not seen her return. He walked forward warily, curious as to what she was doing. He did not hear so much as a rustle while he was waiting for her.
Peeking around the corner, he heard a few sniffles. He quietly headed towards the sound to see Serenity on her knees in front of a room. She was crying, holding her two hands against her face. Shaking, she took a hand off of her face and wiped the tears away. She saw him and nearly jumped.
"Oh, Bakura!" she said, surprised. "I'm almost done." It seemed as if she were trying to ignore her own distress.
"Take your time," he answered. "We're in no rush." She sighed and looked inside the room she had been sitting in front of. Ryou came up next to her and glanced into the area. "It's his room, isn't it?"
The young girl lifted her head to look at him, and he took this as a yes. Ryou peered inside. Yes, this room had certainly belonged to Joey. The whole room was untidy, and clothes were strewn across the floor. Pictures and posters of Duel Monsters, advertisements for dueling tournaments, and Serenity were hung on the walls.
"He never was very organized…" Serenity admitted quietly, blushing. "His friends and I always poked fun at him about that. You remember, don't you?"
Ryou nodded. "Yes, I do," he smiled, remembering Joey's excuses when he and his friends would laugh at his disorganization. Joey never took it seriously—it wasn't meant to be either.
Serenity stood up suddenly, rubbing her eyes. "Let me go fix my hair really quick, and then we can go, okay?" Serenity went into the bathroom before Ryou could respond. Poor thing… he thought, and felt helpless. He wanted to make her feel better, but he knew due to prior experiences that the loss of a family member was not forgotten or easy to get over.
He thought of his own little sister, who had died a few years back, when he was around fifteen. Amane wasn't too different from Serenity either. Both were sweet and shy, they both had a natural beauty about themselves…
Ryou's thoughts were interrupted as Serenity appeared next to him. "Ready?" he asked her, and she replied.
"Ready."
-----
The two arrived at a restaurant after a fairly long and dull taxi drive. Serenity did not feel like speaking when it wasn't necessary—she hadn't ever since Joey's death. The drive there was complete silence; Bakura didn't seem to have much to say either.
Serenity noticed the building was a lunch and dinner place, not a breakfast one. "I figured since it's noon already that we eat lunch instead," Bakura told her, as if he were reading her thoughts. "Is that alright with you?"
"Oh, yes, that's fine," she answered quickly, nodding.
A waiter sat them at a table and presented them with their menus. Serenity fiddled with hers, while Bakura just set his aside. "…Are you eating anything?" she asked, confused.
"Of course," he told her. "I already know what I want."
"Oh," she said quietly, blushing. "…what is it you normally get?"
"Just a cheeseburger."
"Oh, cool."
Serenity's hands fiddled in her lap awkwardly, eyes downcast. Both were uncomfortable at the silence, and yet none of them knew how to break it.
Someone did, however, and her name was Tea Gardner.
The brunette appeared in front of their table in a waitress' uniform, looking confused. "Bakura? Serenity? What are you guys doing here?"
The younger girl held onto a strand of her hair. "Eating, I guess."
"What about you?" Bakura interrupted, centering his attention on her. "I thought you were in New York!"
A frown formed on Tea's face. "I…got kicked out. I missed too many practices, due to trying to see all of Joey and Yugi's duels, so the people at the studio got really angry." Her blue eyes shone with sadness. "No one around there will hire me now, because they apparently told all the other studios about how I could never be on time. Now I'm stuck here, seeing as I don't get paid anymore."
"Oh… I'm so sorry…" Serenity felt sympathy for her friend—dancing was Tea's dream.
"It's alright," Tea forced a smile, and quickly changed the subject. "Is your flu gone, Serenity?"
"Yeah," the younger girl responded, holding a piece of her hair between her fingers. She noticed Bakura give a worried look in her direction as her expression saddened even more so than before. Serenity smiled at him, attempting to reassure the British teen that she was alright.
Tea began to speak again, seemingly trying to escape from a painful subject. "I've never seen you two together before! You guys dating or something? I've always thought you two would make a really cute couple—"
Serenity looked at Bakura and both of them blushed. "No, we aren't, actually," Serenity interrupted, her face growing even redder than before. "I'm just…staying with him for a while."
Tea raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were staying with Mai! Why are you staying with—"
"Uh, Tea, if you don't mind, we're actually kind of hungry…" Bakura pointed out, and Tea slapped her head.
"Oh, right, sorry…"
-----
During the rest of the day, the two spent their time in Ryou's apartment. Serenity went inside her new room, and shut the door. She was far from alright, and Ryou hoped there was some way he could help.
Evening came slowly, and Ryou decided that if he was going to go to his secret area that he treasured so dearly, he had better do it now. He hated to leave Serenity alone, but if he were to sleep at all, he knew he had no option.
He walked over to her room and knocked lightly on the closed door. "Come in," she responded quietly, yet loud enough for Ryou to hear her. He opened it warily, and glanced at her. She was laying face first on the bed, and her face turned to meet his eyes.
Sympathy overwhelmed Ryou, and he sat on the edge of the bed, next to her feet. "You know, Joey would want you to be happy."
Serenity nodded and sniffed. "I know. It's just so... hard." A long pause followed as she wiped her face with her hand. "I really don't know how he expects me to live without him."
"Well, I know he certainly didn't want to leave you alone," he told her. Ryou scratched his head thoughtfully. "I know this is probably not helping at all—considering that I've actually gone through something similar to you, and no one was ever able to help me. Even people who lost loved ones as well could not ease the pain I was going through. But honestly, Serenity, Joey wanted nothing more than for you to be happy and safe. He loved you a lot, you know. Back when he competed in Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom, he wouldn't stop talking about you. It meant so much to him that you would be able to see again, and to actually experience life normally. I'm sure even now that he wishes the same thing for you. He doesn't want to be the one to take away your happiness."
"Yeah, you're right," she agreed sadly holding on to her pillow. She said nothing more, and Ryou breathed heavily. It didn't seem like anything he said helped her at all.
"I'm going to take a walk, alright?" He told her, standing up.
"Okay."
With that, he left the room.
-----
After Bakura left, Serenity kept her head in her pillow. She rolled over to face the ceiling, tears still streaming down her face. "Joey? You really didn't have to do that for me, you know… If only you would have stayed home. If only I was well enough to get it for myself. That was pretty selfish of me, huh? If I had left, I would be the one gone, not you. You deserve a place on this earth more than me." She reached into her pocket and took out her brother's favorite card: the Red Eyes Black Dragon. She held it to her chest lovingly, and whispered, "Help me be strong… I was never able to do anything without you." She thought about Bakura's words and sighed. "You want me to be happy? I'll try, then, okay? I love you."
She slowly drifted off to sleep, clutching the Red Eyes Black Dragon close to her body. Holding that card brought her a sense of peace—it was as if he was right there with her.