A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm pleased to see I'm still surprising people. It warms my heart to hear that, believe me. A couple of people expressed confusion over what Yuugi's mother has done. I hope this chapter clarifies it a little more, but I urge everyone to take into consideration that people are not always reasonable and children who are abused don't always do what seems logical to the rest of us, hence why Yuugi returned home. With that said, enjoy!

With Yuugi and Yami gone, the house felt large and surprisingly empty. Ryou stared blankly out the window as she scrubbed the dishcloth over the plates, so used to the chore that her hands could move on automatic and she would still end up with clean dishes. The house was quiet, yes, but somehow just knowing that Bakura was around somewhere made all the difference in the world. No longer was the silence invading her, no longer a constant reminder of her loneliness that pressed ruthlessly on her head until she wanted to scream just to have some noise. It was almost - and she hated to even think it - comfortable.

She sighed and took her hands out of the soapy water, rinsing the suds off before turning around to come face to face with pale eyes that were standing far too close for comfort. Ryou jumped and gave a squeak that was embarrassingly girly. "Jesus, Bakura!" she gasped, falling back against the counter with one hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?"

Bakura smirked. "I was starting to think that there was something different about you, but never mind. You've just proven me wrong," he said.

"Oh shut up," Ryou muttered. "Did you want something or were you just trying to make a pest of yourself?" She'd never spoken so boldly to him and it felt good. Before, he would've shut her away in the Ring for that until she groveled enough to please him. But he couldn't do that anymore, and whatever else Bakura might be capable of, Ryou couldn't bring herself to believe that he would physically harm her. It just didn't seem to be in his nature, however violent or psychotic he might be towards other people.

He looked at her thoughtfully, openly looking her over without comment. She had the sneaking suspicion that he was noticing far more than she wanted him to. Still, she wasn't prepared when he said, "You missed me. You wanted me to return. Why?"

Startled by the question, Ryou slammed the kitchen drawer without thinking, forgetting that her fingers were in the way. "Ouch! Oh, that hurt." She stuck the tips of her two bruised and throbbing fingers into her mouth and turned to glare at him. "You did that on purpose." Maybe she should re-think the whole Bakura-would-never-hurt-her-thing, judging by the half-grin on his face.

"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention."

"Bastard," Ryou muttered, curling her fingers into a fist. Nothing was broken, but the skin around her nails was already swelling and turning a deep purple color.

"Answer my question."

"Why should I?" She shot him an exasperated look, already knowing from the set of his shoulders that he would not let it go until she did. Bakura could be incredibly persistent when he wanted to be; it was one of the things that had made him such a gifted thief. "Alright, yes, I wanted you back." It was easier to speak when she wasn't looking into his eyes. Ryou pointedly turned her back to him and looked out the window again. "I've been alone for most of my life. Regardless of how you treated me, when you were here, I wasn't alone. And I realize that I could've gone out and found someone else eventually, but I…" She swallowed hard. "I didn't want to. I want you."

Bakura said nothing. He was close enough that she could feel his breath ghosting across the back of her neck and it made her shiver. Flustered, she began to babble. "I don't mean… not like that. I just… you're my other half. Maybe you were just supposed to be some spirit trapped in the Ring, but along the way you became something more. And I hate it but I can't do anything to change that. I have to live with it so I figured that I might as well live with you in the process." She stopped and took a deep breath, a flush covering her cheeks.

"You really are a foolish child."

In light of all the things that he had called her in the past, "foolish child" was nothing. She relaxed a little, bizarrely comforted by the mild insult, and decided to push her luck. "I know. Believe me, I know. Did you even want to come back? Where were you, anyway?"

"I was in the afterlife." Bakura stepped past her and followed her gaze, looking out the window. His gaze was distant, seeing something else entirely, and his arms were crossed tightly. If she hadn't known better she would have said he was uncomfortable. "Apparently the gods felt like they should be lenient with whatever was left after Zorc was sealed away."

"Did you… like it there?" She tried to sound disinterested, knowing that if she let on just how much she craved to know, he would probably walk away. She stuck her hands back into the water and started to scrub at the plates again.

"It was alright. It wasn't what I was expecting. My family… they were waiting for someone that didn't exist anymore." His face was all hard lines, but there was a deep weariness in his eyes that she wasn't familiar with, had never seen before. "They remembered Akefia, the four-year-old child who watched them die. And even though they claimed to have watched over me since then, they were unprepared for a stranger to arrive."

Ryou tried to imagine that. What would it be like to die and finally see her mother and Amane, only to find out that they only wanted the child she'd been when they died? God. It sounded horrible. "I'm sorry."

It was the wrong thing to say. He glared at her. "I don't need your sympathy."

"No, I suppose you don't," Ryou sighed, pulling the plug and allowing the water to drain. "But you have it anyway. At least on this." She knew better than to ask again about whether he had wanted to come back. Bakura had neatly sidestepped that question, making it clear he had no desire to talk about it. That made her suspect that the answer was yes, and it made her feel worse for him than ever. At least she had her friends and her father, even if she rarely saw the man. She couldn't imagine being so alone in the world that the only person you had was your other half, someone you didn't even like. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something comforting, like the fact that she wanted him very much, but she hesitated too long and the moment was lost.

There was a knock on the door and both of them jumped, though Bakura immediately pretended that he hadn't. Ryou sighed again and dried her hands before walking out to the door, dreading who might be waiting there. She pulled it open and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not when she saw that Seto and Mokuba were standing on the other side. On the one hand, at least it wasn't Malik, Anzu, Jou or Honda, all of whom seemed to set Bakura off. But on the other hand, she had to admit she wasn't especially pleased to see the Kaiba brothers, either.

"Hello," she said warily. "Yuugi's not here."

Seto scowled in response but Mokuba just smiled. "That's alright. We can talk to you," he said, pointedly ignoring Bakura. "Can we come in?"

"No," Bakura said.

"Yes," Ryou said, shooting him a Look. She backed up, pulling the door open, and allowed the two of them to step inside. Bakura and Seto eyed each other, displeasure evident in both of their faces, but Mokuba paid them no attention as he followed Ryou into the living room. "Can I get you some tea?"

"That's okay. Nii-sama won't want to stay long if Yami's not around," Mokuba replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two squares of paper. "Here."

Ryou took them. Her eyes widened slightly. She was holding what looked like a photocopied version of a birth certificate. One was for Bakura Dorobou, and the other was for Yami Tenno. Her mouth twitched and it was only with years of practice that she was able to swallow a laugh. "Cute."

He grinned. "I thought so. They're not for permanent yet, but they will be. Nii-sama is working on it. He's had people at Kaiba Corp creating these since we first found out that they would be returning."

"Really?"

"I might have forced his hand. A little." His eyes twinkled.

She laughed. "Thank you, Mokuba-kun. I was wondering how we were going to do this."

"There are still a few kinks to be ironed out," he admitted. "Nii-sama can create all the records in the world, but that won't help Yami or Bakura actually know things."

"Yes, I suppose Yuugi and I will have to stick close to them at first." The idea wasn't necessarily displeasing, but then again, Bakura had proven to be a bastard in the past when it came to things he didn't know or understand. She looked down at the certificates and hoped that both Yami and Bakura would remember some of the knowledge they would have gleaned from living inside of Yuugi and Ryou for a year or so.

Mokuba looked up at her and sighed. "They look to be about a year older than you are," he hinted.

"That sounds about right."

"Ryou-san."

"What?"

"Bakura and Yami are going to have to go to school with you."

INC

The nice thing about Yuugi's bedroom, though it was something few people realized, was that the skylight could be opened, leaving a nice escape route. Koto had always hated it when Yuugi went up onto the roof, claiming that it would only be a matter of time until Yuugi fell to her death, so she didn't do it very often, but she loved it up there. Her room was at the highest point of the house, meaning she was hidden from view from anyone standing on the street, and she adored leaning back against the roof and looking up at the sky, particularly at night. It made her feel like she was the only person in the world and sometimes she needed that.

There were no stars out at that moment, but the deep blue sky was doing almost as good of a job at calming her. Yuugi watched the clouds going by, lazily tracing the different shapes. She could feel a low hum of worry coming down the link from Yami - apparently not even shields were enough to keep out the strongest of emotions - and doubtless her grandfather was feeling the same way, but she couldn't bring herself to go downstairs just yet. It was too much. Every time she thought about her mother, a lump formed in her throat and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

How could she have just left? Granted, it had been difficult for the both of them after Yuugi's father had died. Koto had been overwhelmed at being a single mother for a toddler at the young age of twenty. Daichi's death had been swift and unexpected and she'd floundered. Fortunately, Sugoroku had stepped up, taking them both in when they had nowhere else to go. He'd saved them, but there had been times, Yuugi knew, when her mother had regretted her lot in life. She vividly remembered overhearing an argument when she was a child that had ended when Sugoroku told Koto to leave if she wanted to, but not to come back if she did. Did that still stand? Would her mother ever return? Or was she now, for all intent and purposes, an orphan?

God. Yuugi covered her face, trying to hold back the swell of tears that burned at her eyes. She was sick of crying, tired of feeling like a child, but she couldn't help it. She dropped her hands to her sides and tilted her head back to stare up at the sky as she heard the sounds of someone, likely Yami, climbing up onto the roof. He was the only other person who had ever been up here with her, even though last time it had been because they were sharing a body, and sure enough he dropped down beside her a moment later. The sky was beginning to blur and she didn't dare look at him, but that didn't stop him. Yami reached out and took her hand, running his thumb soothingly over the pulse point in her wrist.

"Your mother," he said quietly, "is a very unwise woman."

"I don't know why you would say that." It was a struggle to keep her voice even and even as she heard the words coming out, she knew she shouldn't have said it. "You left me, too."

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