Ayame had only left Shogi City once before. After weeks of begging, Sumiko allowed Ayame to go with her friend Honoka's family to their family's ryokan in the mountains about a hundred kilometers to the east of the city. By train, it was only about thirty minutes away. Her favorite part of the trip was the train ride to their destination. From the moment the train left the central terminal, Ayame giggled frequently at every tree they passed and every new station they stopped at. Honoka, as loud and bubbly as she was, eventually got annoyed with her friend's excitement twenty minutes into the train ride. Everything about leaving Shogi City was a surreal adventure. Honoka's mother and father indulged the two girls with a busy vacation schedule. Multiple attractions and photographs later, they returned to Shogi City. Despite calling every day, Sumiko was an anxious mess. Ayame knew that she may never get to go on another vacation again.

Yet, here she sat in the middle seat of a moving van with her best friend outside of her new home in Domino City.

Ryuji opened the door of the van and let himself out. He stretched his arms up to the sky and let out a loud yawn. He then rolled his shoulders and neck. Every movement was coupled with a groan of discomfort followed by moan of satisfaction as each muscle was therapeutically stretched.

Ayame slowly exited the van and looked up at the apartment building. It was a newer building roughly four blocks from the pier. It was ten stories high and painted an off white color. There were trees lining the street, with a few bushes and potted trees decorating the front face of the building. Despite being close to the industrial area of the pier, the building was tastefully designed. She made a mental note to tell Mr. Himura that he had great taste.

"Aya, let's go check this place out. It looks like his unit is on the top floor," Ryuji said, snapping Aya out of her thoughts. He pulled the key from his pocket along with a folded piece of paper with the address on it. Clutching her purse a little tighter, she took a deep breath and put a smile on her face. She quickly fell into step with Ryuji as they approached the open lobby doors.

"Welcome to Azure Horizon Tower, Miss Hirata," The receptionist greeted with a bow at the lobby doors. "We were expecting you."

Ayame looked at the receptionist confused. She was still not accustomed to the new last name… or would it be considered her old last name? She turned her attention to Ryuji who avoided her gaze. She pulled the sleeve of his black jacket to get his attention. He looked at her from the corners of his eyes. She knew he only did that when he was hiding something; a skill that came with knowing the boy since he was five years old.

He shrugged knowing that his side-eyeing habit gave him away. "I told Uncle Kin about your name."

"Ryuji!" Ayame said in a hushed, exasperated voice.

"What?" He replied, offended.

"I…" She started. She looked to the receptionist who was waiting for them patiently at the door. Returning her attention to her friend, she stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. He leaned down to compensate for the height difference of almost twenty centimeters. "I don't have anything that says my name is Hirata except that hospital paper."

He put his hand on her head, causing her to blink and look up at him. "Don't worry about that right now, Aya," He comforted.

Ryuji looked to the receptionist and gave him a nod. Bowing again, the receptionist moved to the side and let them enter the lobby. It wasn't a grand lobby, but it was much nicer than she expected. The floor was tiled and shined to a gloss with two brown leather couches situated next to each other. The ceiling had track lighting spaced evenly across the ceiling accentuating the white, glossy floors. Arriving at the elevators, the receptionist turned to give Ayame both a mailbox key and a black RFID fob key to access the lobby.

They took the elevator to the top floor, the tenth floor, and walked to the end of a narrow walkway to unit 1010. The receptionist used the spare key to open the heavy brown door.

Ayame covered her mouth in awe of the unit.

"Didn't he say the place was probably very dusty?" Ryuji commented rhetorically.

"Mr. Himura called this morning and hired one of our contracted cleaning companies to clean the space for you. We hope it is to your standard." The receptionist replied holding the door open.

The two teenagers removed their shoes and entered the apartment. The first thing they both noticed was the view of the pier. The mid-afternoon sun glistened against the water creating a mesmerizing view. The apartment was spacious but empty, as Mr. Himura stated the other day.

"This unit is forty-eight square meters with one bedroom and one bathroom. The kitchen has a two-burner cooktop and a small refrigerator. Your washroom has your washer and dryer. The toilet is in a separate room. You also have the intercom right here by the front door for visitors who wish to visit." The receptionist explained as he showed each individual room and item. "Utilities including cable, internet, and phone are included in the building fees, which are being paid for by Mr. Himura."

"He's-" Ayame tried to interject.

"Our maintenance staff will be assisting your moving company to bring your furniture to your unit. They should be up shortly."

The two teenagers met back up with the receptionist by the front door. "Thank you for your hard work," They both said as they bowed slightly.

The receptionist bowed back. "It was my pleasure. Please let me know if we can be of any more service. Please excuse me."

With that statement, he exited the room closing the door behind him.

Ryuji was the first to move from where they were standing. He walked toward the balcony and slid open the glass door. Ayame followed closely behind and closed the balcony door behind them. It was a small balcony, but large enough to fit a small bistro table set with two chairs. Just as quick as the furniture appeared in her head, it was replaced with the nagging thought that she was broke… instant ramen three times a day broke. Her face dropped.

Ryuji leaned on the balcony railing and gazed out at the sun setting on the ocean. "You don't get views like this back home. I'm jealous, Aya."

Aya leaned on the railing next to him. "I wouldn't be," She replied, lowly.

Ryuji put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her toward him in a side hug. She leaned her head into the nook his partially extended arm created and let out a big sigh. A million thoughts ran through her head as she continued to admire the glittering ocean. Each time she tried to focus on one thought, another wave of five more thoughts overwhelmed it. It was a battle royale in her teenage mind. Up until two days ago, the only things on her mind were work and a new school bag. She made a mental note to never take bliss for granted again, or at least to try very hard not to. She leaned heavily toward trying very hard.

"I'm going back to Shogi City tomorrow morning," Ryuji announced.

Ayame looked up with shock in her eyes. "Tomorrow?"

He nodded and looked down at her. "The Black Crown is opening here next month, remember?"

Embarrassed, her lips puckered and her eyes shifted away from her best friend. She did forget. It crossed her mind to blame it on the incidents yesterday, but that would have been an obvious lie that he would pick up immediately. The truth was, she wasn't listening much when Ryuji would talk about the new location in Domino City. Up until now, she didn't really care about the happenings in Domino. All that she did listen to, however, she didn't bother to commit it to memory. She felt that she failed as a best friend… and now she was in this situation trying to think of any excuse to make sure he didn't get mad at her.

"You forgot, didn't you?" He deadpanned.

She looked back at him with the same expression she looked away with. "If I said yes, does that make me a bad best friend?"

He sighed. "And I'm supposed to leave you here by yourself?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the intercom. Ayame was the first to open the glass sliding door and run to the intercom. She held down the receiver button. "Hello?"

"Trans Movers and maintenance!" The voice came through the speaker.

"Come in!" She replied, pressing the button to open the lobby door.

Ryuji laughed and walked over to her shaking his head with his arms crossed over his chest. "Why am I not surprised you'd get excited over something as simple as an intercom?"

"I had never seen one before!" She proclaimed as she pointed back to the intercom.

"They're really nothing special," He replied, nonchalantly.

"Leave me alone, Otogi," She deadpanned.

"Otogi, eh?" Ryuji mocked her, circling his fingers around his chin. "I thought we were closer than that, Hirata."

She stuck her tongue out at him to end the argument. The reality was that she was simply too lazy to come up with a retort. He smiled at the action and crossed his arms over his chest. His best friend was back, even if it was just for a short while. 'Live in the moment,' He reminded himself.

"Still so immature."

It took an hour and a half for the movers and building maintenance to bring up all the furniture and boxes. It would have been shorter if Ayame didn't ask for them to stage the furniture as well. The two men from Trans Movers, especially the owner, were more than happy to oblige. Ayame chalked it up to great service. She counted her blessings.

Ryuji had gone out to purchase food for their dinner. He returned with Chinese food about ten minutes before the movers finished. He placed the food on the stovetop. He placed two paper plates that he got from the restaurants and matched them with plastic utensils on the small counter space next to it.

"We're done, Otogi," The owner of the moving company stated with his arms crossed over his chest. "And my debt is paid."

"Thank you, Mr. Oba," Ryuji replied nonchalantly in English with a devious smile on his face. "It's been a pleasure," He finished in Japanese. He looked up to the older, slightly overweight man while maintaining his smug facial expression. Mr. Oba's face, however, showed a growing frustration coupled with a red tinge slowly creeping to the surface of his skin. His bald head produced small beads of sweat from the stress of resisting the urge to pummel the raven-haired teen.

Deciding to entertain him no longer, Mr. Oba huffed and left the room with his worker followed by the maintenance crew. The last member of the maintenance crew to leave turned and bowed one last time before gently closing the door, once again leaving the two teenagers alone.

Ryuji took the two plates and sat it down on the mat Ayame had set on the empty space on the wooden floor. The boxes of belongings were piled throughout the small living room. Ryuji mentally patted himself on the back for not bringing the dining table; it definitely wouldn't have fit.

They gave thanks for the food and took the first bite at almost the same time. He bought mabo dofu and rice, his favorite. Ayame had no preferences for Chinese food. To her, most of it tasted similar. It made it hard for her to pick a favorite. Therefore, she always let Ryuji pick the dishes. His selections have yet to disappoint her.

"What did Mr. Oba mean by his 'debt is paid?'" Ayame inquired, placing an emphasis on the last three words. She took her first bite. She mentally prepared herself for the spice that usually came with the dish, but this version was surprisingly mellow.

He swallowed what was in his mouth and gave her a small smirk. "He lost a bet."

She made an "o" with her mouth and turned her attention back to her food. "How did the bet come about?"

"Well," He started, picking up another bit of food with his chopsticks. "He knocked over one of our shelves while moving a table and broke it. I told him he didn't have to worry about it if he could beat me at Dungeon Dice Monsters."

He put the food in his mouth.

"Why am I not surprised…" She mumbled as she took another bite of her food.

He swallowed his food. "I explained the rules."

"It's not really fair though, considering you created the game."

"You got a free move out of it, right?" He said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

She opened her mouth to argue, but quickly shut it. He was right. The look in his green eyes reminded her of that fact. It suddenly made sense to her how he was able to get a moving company at the last minute. Despite the benefit to her, she still felt uncomfortable with her friend's methods for getting these favors. He finished off his plate.

"Speaking of free moves, let's get some of these boxes unpacked," He suggested as he stood up with his empty plate. "Before I leave tomorrow."

Ayame took the last bite of her food and stood up with her plate. They threw their plates and plastic utensils in the trash. Ayame folded up the mat and placed it in the storage closet closest to the front door. She walked back into the living room and grabbed the first box she saw. She placed the box on the ground. Ryuji handed her one of two box cutters he had, and she sliced the tape, opening the box.

He walked over to the other side of the living room and picked out a box from the middle of a stack. It was the only unlabelled box.

"So, when I was packing all this up by myself last night," He started while eyeing her. "I found some interesting stuff."

"Oh?" Ayame replied, her curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, I think you'll like it," He replied with a smirk.

Laying down the box on the ground, he opened it effortlessly with the box cutter and pulled out the first item, which was a medium sized black velvet jewelry box. Ayame raised her eyebrow. "Her jewelry box?"

"Have you ever opened it?" He asked while looking at her. He positioned his hand on the lid, ready to open it.

"Why would I?"

"Because, if you did," He started as he opened the lid. A few pieces of jewelry laid haphazardly on the red velvet surface as a result of poor packing in the moving box. "And took this piece out," He continued as he removed the red velvet surface to reveal another layer of the box. Ayame's eyes went wide at the sight. "You'd find that the woman was ready to leave at a moment's notice."

Ayame reached into the box and pulled out two small bundles of 2,000 yen bills wrapped with a thin strip of paper noting the total value of the stack being 200,000 yen each. Her eyes remained glued open as she fanned through the tops of the bills. She thought it was without a doubt some of the money she embezzled from the hospital. Feeling disgusted, Ayame put the bills back in the box.

"You could use that money to survive until you find another job," Ryuji suggested.

"Ryuji, this is probably some of the money she stole," She stated uncomfortably.

"Or, it could be money she earned working as a nurse that she stashed," He offered, earning a confused look from his female friend.

"Are you serious?" She asked in disbelief, slightly louder than she intended.

"Just hear me out," He started picking the money up from out of the box and holding it in front of his blue-eyed friend's face. "For somebody who supposedly embezzled two-hundred million yen, you guys sure lived frugally, and this," He said as he held up the two stacks. "Is barely anything. She even had a job," He continued to argue, placing a notable emphasis on job, implying that he found that to be the most unbelievable part.

"What are you saying? That she's innocent?" Ayame asked quickly, almost irritated at the fact that he seemed to be defending her.

He shook his head. "I'm saying that there's a chance that this is her hard-earned money rather than the embezzled money."

"And?" She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to finish his argument.

"And," He continued, mimicking her crossed arms. "Would you be more comfortable living off of it if it were money that she earned?"

Ayame looked at the money and thought about it. She wasn't sure what she wanted to believe. The pain caused by her mother's arrest and, as she saw it, betrayal wounded all trust she had in her. No matter how she tried, which wasn't much, she could not believe that a single strand of honesty ever existed in the woman. She lied about her name, she lied about Ayame's name, and she lied about being her mother… and when she thought about that, she realized there was no way she could believe that the money in her friend's hands was hard-earned.

"I doubt it is."

"Look, Aya," He started, looking her directly in the eyes. "You need to be able to support yourself. You have nothing. I can't support you, and Uncle Kin is supporting you a lot already. Eventually, you should be paying the expenses for this place, not him"

She looked down to her lap embarrassed.

"Aya, look at me," He said firmly, immediately causing her to look up. "We don't know how she got this money. If she was going to leave, it would have been with you, and I'm sure even you can't deny that. Besides, it's not like she's going to be using it in jail."

The last statement earned a small chuckle from the brunette. "I hate your devil's advocate arguments."

"You know I'm right."

She nodded.

He put the cash back in the jewelry box and closed it. He reached back into the box and pulled out a white letter-sized envelope. He opened it and pulled out a few papers.

"I found some more documents. One has your birth name. It looks like a health screening from the hospital. It's the one you found," He explained handing the paper to her. "This is your, I guess fake, birth certificate," He continued as he passed it to her. "And," He looked at the last paper. "Your new fake certificate."

Her face contorted in confusion. "New fake certificate?"

He smiled proudly. "I thought about it for a while, and realized that if you are a kidnapped baby, it would make things that much harder for you, and your other name is off the table, so," He turned the paper around to show his friend. "Ayame Hirata."

She took the paper from his hands and looked at it impressed. "This looks real."

"I know. Dad did a pretty good job."

"Uncle Clown made this?" She looked to him with her mouth slightly ajar.

"I'll tell him that you were impressed."

Ayame ran her finger over the name. A small part of her felt the need to correct the name back to Ishida, but that feeling was short lived. The thought of the name brought up the picture of the woman she believed to be her mother for sixteen years on the television. Sumiko Hara. Her eyes lingered over the name Hirata, her real name. Despite that, it felt foreign to her. It felt like it didn't belong to her, much like the name Ishida began to feel. Her eyes travelled to the name Ayame. That wasn't hers either, yet it was the only one that felt like it was. She thought back to the name Maya. Maya Hirata. That was her name, or at least that's what she tried to convince herself of.

Ayame put the paper down and started patting herself on the cheeks with both hands. After three pats, she rubbed her cheeks pulling the corners of her mouth in circles.

Ryuji chuckled. "You're thinking too hard about this, Aya."

"Shouldn't we have put Maya?" She voiced the thought in her head. "I mean, that is my real name, isn't it?"

Sighing, Ryuji scooted next to her and put his arm around her shoulders for the second time that day. He looked at a stack of boxes in the kitchen labelled with various kitchen gadgets and tableware. He took a second to formulate this thoughts. With a deep breath, he said, "Names are something that people give us."

She looked up at him unable to process his uncharacteristically wise words immediately.

He didn't avert his gaze from kitchen boxes. "Your name is your identity, and you decide who you are, right?" He looked down at her and smiled. "Has Dad ever told you to call him anything other than Clown?"

She thought about it. Out of all the years she has known him, he has only ever referred to himself as Mr. Clown. Even her mother-no, Sumiko called him that. She shocked herself at the thought of still referring to Sumiko Hara as her mother.

"He identifies with Mr. Clown; it's who he is," He continued. "I don't remember the last time he ever referred to himself as Kentaro," His eyes narrowed with melancholy as he lowered his head to gaze briefly at the floor under the stack of boxes.

"Anyway, this is a fake certificate for now," Ryuji continued when she didn't voice a response, looking at the certificate in her hands. "When you're ready, we can get your real one."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm here for you, Aya," Ryuji stated, affectionately. "I'm pretty much your brother, after all."

"As long as Uncle Clown doesn't end up being my dad," Ayame joked as she smiled brightly at her best friend.

He laughed. "I won't tell him you said that."

Ayame and Ryuji stood at the entrance of Domino's main train station. He had his black duffle bag slung over his shoulder and wore the same clothes from the day before, much to Ayame's disgust. She made sure to scold him when he got out of the shower that morning wearing the same clothes. She, on the other hand, wore the sun dress she bought the day before she left Shogi City. It was a simple white white eyelet dress that she wore with a denim jacket. She donned a khaki felt floppy hat with a black ribbon atop her straight brown hair.

She lifted the front of her hat to get a better view of her friend.

"I don't know why you insisted on wearing that oversized hat," Ryuji commented, bending over slightly to look under the fold. "It's a bit inconvenient, don't you think?"

"It's cute," She huffed in rebuttal. "And it blocks the sun."

He chuckled. "Girls and their accessories."

"Hah!" She exclaimed as she poked at his gold arm band. "Says the boy wearing gold jewelry. At least my hat is functional!"

Ryuji swatted her hand away, which made her laugh. He smiled at the action. Seeing her laugh made him slightly more comfortable with leaving her by herself. Slightly. He looked at the digital clock on the wall. The shinkansen to take him home was arriving in five minutes.

Ayame then suddenly hugged him tightly around the waist. She held him with the intention of never letting go, like a child clinging to a parent. Maybe if she held him long enough, he would miss his train and have to stay with her. The truth was that she was scared to be alone. She felt displaced both physically and emotionally, and now the last and, frankly, only person she's been relying on for holistic support was leaving a day after they got to Domino. She thought it wasn't fair. With that thought, her tears soon started wetting his shirt.

Her best friend hugged her back gently placing one hand on the middle of her back and one on the back of her head. He let her cry… for a few more seconds.

"You're going to ruin your makeup."

"It's waterproof," Her muffled voice responded.

"So you planned on crying?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I knew I would."

He held her a little tighter. "You'll be fine, Aya."

After a few more seconds, she let him go and took a few steps back. She pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped the tears from her face. "You better go before you miss your train."

"You probably wouldn't mind that."

"You know me too well," She said as she jumped back to him and gave him another hug. A final hug, she told herself. "I'll see you next month?"

He hugged her back. "Count on it."

The arrival music started playing through the speakers. It was time for him to go, yet he found his arms still wrapped securely around her small frame. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. He didn't trust that she could survive. The girl in his arms was sheltered her entire life, after all.

Drawing upon all her courage, Ayame pulled away. "Go."

And he did, with a satisfied smile on his face.

The train slowed to a stop after two hours and six minutes. The shinkansen was rarely delayed, and this time was no different. Within a minute of the train slowing down, it was announced of the train's arrival in Domino City through the speakers.

"Finally! I thought we'd be on this train forever!" Honda groaned immediately after the automated announcement.

Anzu shook her head in disappointment. "It was only two hours, Honda."

"Two hours is pretty long, Anzu," Yugi spoke up, putting his Duel Monsters deck back in its case. "I would have been bored if I didn't have Jonouchi to play Duel Monsters with."

Jonouchi followed suit and returned his deck to its case. "And to think I was going to leave it at home! I'm glad I didn't!"

"Me too," Yugi chuckled as he turned his attention to his white haired friend sitting across the aisle. "What about you, Bakura?"

Bakura shifted his attention from outside the window to his friends. "It didn't feel too long; I was pretty occupied with the food and scenery."

"Wow, you're patient," Honda murmerred.

The train soon slowed to a stop and the doors fluidly slid open. The group gathered their duffle bags and suitcases and exited the car. Their car was fairly empty, with just one other person on-board. He was an elderly man, and was quiet for the entirety of the ride. Anzu was surprised he didn't make any comments about how loud Jonouchi and Honda were being, especially during the Duel Monsters games.

They continued to walk toward the entrance of the station. Anzu's attention shifted toward the lone vending machine, her subconscious reminding her that she was thirsty. However, it was the sight of a familiar face that stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hey guys, isn't that the girl from the train station in Shogi yesterday?" Anzu commented as she noticed the girl with the floppy hat sitting on the bench near a vending machine. "The one that Yugi asked about the maple leaves?"

Yugi stopped and looked at the girl. "It's hard to tell with her hat covering her face."

"Yeah, who would wear a hat that big?" Jonouchi added, gazing at her hat in pure confusion.

Anzu huffed. "Well I think it's cute."

The group looked at her form for a while in silence, none of them wanting to make the first motion to find out her identity. They looked to each other as if asking the others to be the one to volunteer. Eventually, all eyes fell on Yugi, who already knew that it was futile to fight the consensus. He let out a big sigh and acknowledged his job.

He started walking over cautiously with his hands in his pockets. He looked over his shoulder back to his friends, who were watching him curiously. Jonouchi threw him a thumbs up and flashed him a goofy grin. Yugi returned the thumbs up and continued his trek toward the girl with the big hat.

What should have only been ten meters felt like fifty to Yugi, but in no time he was standing in front of the girl. "Excuse me, but," He started to get her attention.

She startled slightly and wiped her cheek before looking up to a familiar face. "Oh, it's you."

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you were crying," He asked, concern dripping in his voice. She wiped her cheek again instinctively, confirming to him that she was.

"This is embarrassing; I'm sorry," She apologized and she straightened out her hat to reveal more of her face. "These last two days have been quite the ordeal."

"It seems like it. Why were you crying, might I ask?"

She sniffled and corrected her posture. "Let's just say I had to start over," She said, looking at the advertisement from Kaiba Corporation for a new Duel Disk.

"But enough about me," She changed the subject before he could question her for details. She put on a smile and looked at him. "Were you and your friends able to get some maple leaves?"

"Ah, yes! You were right about Mr. Morimoto! He was the only one open. We bought the rest of his stock."

She chuckled at the thought. She could only imagine Mr. Morimoto's excited response. "He probably threw in something extra too."

"Yeah, he did," He said as he fished around in his duffel bag. He pulled out a small maple leaf charm. "He gave us all these charms for our school bags or phones."

"That sounds like him. You guys probably made his day," She smiled at the thought of Mr. Morimoto's predictable actions.

Yugi chuckled. "That's exactly what he said!"

"Hey, Yugi! Way to let us know it was her!" Honda's voice came.

Yugi turned around to see his friends walking up to them. He turned around and waved at them embarrassed. "Sorry guys; got caught up in conversation."

Ayame stood up and smoothed out her white eyelet dress. She bowed slightly and said, "It's nice to see you all again."

"Ah, so formal!" Jonouchi exclaimed loudly. "There's no need for that!"

At that moment, she was thankful that her hat covered her face. Her eye twitched at the sound of the familiar loud voice. It was nothing against him; for sure it was just his personality. Nonetheless, she found the volume unnecessary. Confident her face would remain pleasant, she rose from her bow and wore her smile.

Anzu smiled and walked up to her. "I love your outfit, especially this hat," She complimented while pointing to Ayame's hat. "It's so cute. Do you love fashion?"

Ayame's eyes perked up. "Yes, I love it. I feel that I can really express myself through my outfits."

"I can tell we're going to be great friends already," Anzu proclaimed proudly.

Yugi looked back to Ayame. "Say, we never caught your name—"

"Oh! Where are my manners?" She interrupted with a gasp. "My name is Ayame Hirata."

"It's nice to meet you, Hirata; I'm Yugi Muto," He introduced himself. It seemed to her that she started a chain of manners, and in the back of her mind, a voice chimed that her mother would be proud of her. As quickly as the voice came, it was quickly repressed by the defense mechanism that was her mind. However, it was not quick enough to stop the pang of betrayal and hurt brought on by the events two days ago.

Then another thought came to her mind: Mr. Clown.

"Yugi Muto? As in the grandson of Suguroku Muto?" She asked for confirmation.

Yugi's head tilted slightly in confusion. "You've heard of my grandfather?"

She nodded her head. "My friend's father speaks of him often, albeit not very highly." She thought back to all the comments Mr. Clown has made about Suguroku Muto over the course of her school years. She couldn't remember one positive one. A single event put Mr. Clown on a warpath to revenge, and it impacted her best friend's life in a negative way.

"Your grandfather really did wrong by him," She finished, choosing to omit details.

"Grandpa did?" Yugi asked confused. The question took him aback.

"I can't imagine Yugi's grandpa doing anything that bad," Anzu added. "I mean, he's got a bit of a dirty mind, but that's about the worst of it."

Ayame sighed. "I don't really know the details, I'm sorry," She said, which was a blatant lie.

"Changing the subject," Honda interrupted. "What are you doing in Domino, Hirata?"

"Ah, Ayame is okay," She corrected with the slight wave of her hand. Firstly, she was never one for the use of her last name, unless it was by her teachers or her former boss. Most recently, however, it was because the name was still foreign to her. Despite that, she found herself adjusting well, and for that she was quite proud.

"To answer your question, I live here now."

"Now?" Jonouchi questioned in shock. "Like, you just moved?"

"Yes, I just got here yesterday," She replied while nervously rubbing the back of her head under her hat. "Like I told Yugi, these past two days have been quite the ordeal for me."

"So, you lived in Shogi up until yesterday… and you just up and moved here?" Jonouchi reiterated, more for himself. The thought was farfetched

"That's what she just said, Jonouchi," Anzu confirmed sarcastically.

"I know that, but it's just so… strange to up and move that quickly."

"I'm sure she has a reason," Bakura chimed in, grabbing the attention of the rest of the group, Ayame included. He looked to her sympathetically. Ayame smiled at the boy with white hair. She got the feeling that he understood what she was going through, but she dare not ask him how. Regardless, she was thankful for the opportunity to not have to lie about her situation.

"So, where do you live, Ayame?" Yugi asked.

"Azure Horizon Tower, close to the pier," She explained motioning to where she thought the pier was. She knew that probably wasn't where it was, but at that point she wasn't worried; They knew that she was new. "It's my uncle's unit."

"Hey, isn't that where you live, Bakura?" Yugi chimed in.

Bakura nodded.

"Wow, the fan girls will not like that," Anzu joked, nudging Bakura in the side. "They're quite possessive over Bakura here."

Ayame cocked her head to the side. "Fan girls?"

"It shouldn't be a problem unless you plan on attending our school," Jonouchi stated. He walked over to Ayame and rested his forearm upon her shoulder; an easy feat for somebody who was also almost twenty centimeters taller than her. "But you know, I don't have a fan club yet. I'm safe to hang out with."

"Who would want to start a fan club for you?" Honda stated bluntly, eying his blonde friend from the corner of his eye.

"Because I'm Katsuya Jonouchi, runner-up in Duelist Kingdom!" He proclaimed proudly, invulnerable to his friend's blatantly snarky comment. "More than you have, Honda!"

"You punk!" Honda growled, ready to let his now clenched fist explain what he was feeling.

Ayame's eyes perked up as she looked up to Jonouchi in surprise. "Katsuya Jonouchi?"

"Oh, so you've heard of me?" He asked flirtatiously, the recognition doing wonders for his ego. Honda sighed and shook his head.

"Yes, through my uncle," She smiled at the fact that she came across the boy so quickly. Soon, the image of Hikari Jonouchi flashed through her mind, filling it slowly with a creeping sense of melancholy. She turned her head to the side. "I'm, um, sorry about your aunt."

"My… aunt?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah, um," She lifted the front of her hat and looked up to his face. "Uncle Kin says he didn't forget about you, or your sister."

He lifted his arm and took a step back. "Okay, this is getting weird. Just who are you?"

Ayame froze with fear, her eyes darting to each member of the group as if searching for somebody to give her a way out. The anxiety she had seen Sumiko Hara struggle with so often had soon gripped her own bones, paralyzing them. She wanted to scold herself for being so forward. She knew her best friend would be shaking his head in disappointment for her lack of tact. As far as she was concerned, she ruined her first opportunity to make friends in the new city. At that moment, she sincerely hoped that Domino High School was not the only high school in the city. Her mind told her to run before she made the situation more awkward. Her body obliged.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized quickly and loudly with a deep bow. "It was nice meeting you all. I'll be going."

She turned heel and brushed past Jonouchi, but not quick enough to evade the hand that caught her forearm. She cursed in her head, a habit she developed to avoid getting scolded for bad language when growing up.

"Hold on there," He started. "You can't drop things like that then bolt."

'Watch me,' She retorted in her mind.

He dropped her arm and took a deep breath. "Look, I just haven't heard those names in a long time."

Ayame stood there in silence looking at Jonouchi. The rest of the gang did as well. None were quite sure how to continue the conversation. They remained like that for a few seconds longer before Jonouchi continued.

"So, you live in their apartment? Unit 1010?"

Ayame nodded.

"Do you, uh, mind if I, uh…" He dragged on. He rubbed the back of his head. "How do I say this without sounding like a creep?"

"Maybe by not talking?" Honda muttered under his breath, his fist still inching to collide with the blonde's cheek.

"Can it, wise guy!" Jonouchi retorted looking in Honda's direction.

He looked back to Ayame. "Anyway, um, could I come over?" He asked, sheepishly.

Immediately realizing that he still sounded like a creep, he put his hands up, palms forward, in front of his body as if to halt any reactions from Ayame. "For old time's sake!"

"Uh," She started, taken aback by the request.

"No pressure, or anything!" He added trying to make her feel comfortable.

"You know, most guys ask girls out on dates before asking to go over to their homes," Anzu joked as she held back a chuckle. "Especially when they just met them."

Jonouchi became flustered. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

The gang soon joined in laughter at Jonouchi's expense, causing him to become even more flustered. His cheeks took on a pink tinge as frustration took over him. Ayame smiled at him in amusement.

"Okay," She decided, still smiling.

The laughter of the gang soon tapered off as all eyes fell on Ayame. Jonouchi was the last to look at the brunette, still pink in the cheeks.

"It's a bit of a mess since I'm not quite done unpacking, but you're more than welcome to stop by," She offered. "However, I'm afraid there is nothing left from when Uncle Kin lived there."

"That's fine! It's really that view that I miss!" He explained excitedly.

"It is nice, isn't it?" She laughed.

"Okay, lovebirds," Honda joked, putting a hand on both Ayame and Jonouchi's shoulders. "Change of plans today?"

"Lovebirds?!" Jonouchi yelled, incidentally right into Ayame's ear causing her eye to wince and flinch away in pain. She then proceeded to rub the inside of her ear with her pointer finger. He had succeeded in making her ear ring, which really wasn't a difficult task; her ears were pretty sensitive.

"Not for me, guys," Yugi replied. "I promised lunch with Grandpa, and I don't want these maple leaves to get too soggy."

"Yeah, Mom wanted me home to get ready for school on Monday," Anzu added. "I still have some shopping to do."

She turned to Ayame. "Speaking of school, are you registered for a school?"

"Yes, Domino High School," She responded.

"Yup, we're going to have fan club trouble," Jonouchi sighed.

"Jonouchi!" Anzu scolded.

"What? Have you seen the fan club?" Jonouchi defended himself. "Poor Bakura can't seem to get a break, yeah, man?"

Bakura blushed and turned his head to the side. He knew very well about his fan club, as others have called it. He found the best way to cope with it was to disregard their presence. Unfortunately for him, the disregard was an attractive quality and did nothing but increase the number of members.

"He's modest," Jonouchi commented as he turned his attention back to Ayame. "So, how about it?"

"Wait, wait," Anzu interrupted. She jogged up to Ayame and pulled out her cell phone. "Would you like to go shopping tomorrow? Girls only."

Ayame's eyes perked up instantly and a big smile immediately came to her face. "Really?"

Anzu smiled. It excited her to finally have a girl to hang out with, not that she didn't enjoy the company of her guys. "Really. What's your number?"

Ayame looked down. "I don't have a phone set up yet at home, nor a cell phone," She apologized. "I hope to get the home phone set up soon."

Anzu shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll meet you at your apartment. Can I stop by at around nine?"

Ayame nodded excitedly. "Yes, that would be wonderful!"

"Great," Anzu confirmed as she put away her phone in her purse. "It's a date."

The smile remained plastered on Ayame's face as she nodded once.

Anzu and Yugi waved goodbye to the rest of the group as they walked into the terminal to catch their connecting train. Ayame and the remaining boys waved in return. She smiled at the two fading figures. For the first time in years, she felt that somebody was watching over her, beit a God or someone else. Her mind flashed back to Sumiko Hara and her faith. She looked back to her three new friends next to her, and suddenly she felt the thoughts of the woman who was her mother fade from her mind.

"Are you tagging along too, Honda?" Jonouchi asked.

"Yeah, somebody's gotta make sure you don't jump on the poor girl," Honda joked as he put his blonde friend in a chokehold.

Jonouchi choked and fought to get out of the headlock, earning a small chuckle from Ayame and Bakura. She took a few steps to the side and ended up right next to the albino boy. "Bakura, right?"

He nodded and looked at her. "Yes, Ryo Bakura."

"Are you coming over as well?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Well," She started as she took a quick glance to see if the two friends were still wrestling. Not to her surprise, they still were, but it was Honda who was now in the chokehold. She looked back to Bakura, "I'll be making lunch, so if you feel inclined, please stop by."

"I appreciate the offer, Ayame, thank you."

She smiled and fished out a piece of paper from her purse along with a pen. She scribbed her name and unit number on it. "Here," She said as she folded the piece of paper in half. "For if you decide to join us."

She placed the paper in his hand. Just as the tips of her fingers touched his palm, she felt a wave of warmth and electricity rush through her body, traveling from her fingertips and out through what felt like every nerve ending her body. She jolted her hand back, dropping the paper. She held her hand as if it were wounded. She looked at it wondering what happened. Autumn was approaching, and the air was getting drier as the temperature dropped. She thought that perhaps it was just static he built up from his wool sweater. She looked back to him, dropping her afflicted hand. "I'm so sorry," She apologized as she bent down to pick up the paper she dropped. "I think I shocked you."

He bent down as well to pick up the paper before she got to it. "It's all right; it happens sometimes."

She smiled at him. "A sign that the seasons are changing, I think."

They stood up looking back to the two expecting them to still be fighting. To their surprise, they were no longer wrestling, but rather looking away from each other with their arms crossed. Ayame chuckled, gaining the attention of the two boys. "Are you two done?"

"He started it!" Jonouchi accused Honda looking back at him.

Honda looked back at him with a sneer. "You-"

"They're quite the entertaining duo," She smiled looking at Bakura.

Bakura chuckled. "Yes, they are."

"We're standing right here, you know," They responded in unison.

Ayame smiled. "I know."

"You're going to have your hands full, Jonouchi," Honda claimed resting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't envy you, man."

Jonouchi groaned. "For the last time-"

Ayame clapped her hands together and put on the biggest smile, gaining the attention of the whole group. "Shall we go?"

The two boys looked to each other, then back to Ayame. Honda smiled. "Yeah, let's."

She nodded and pulled out her railcard from her wallet. She took a step toward the bickering boys, then turned around to face Bakura again. "Are you coming?

"I have some business in this district," He explained with a slight smile. "But I will be by later. Shall I bring anything?"

She shook her head. "No need. I'll make something for you. I'm making lunch for everybody."

"Did she say lunch?" Jonouchi's voice came from behind her.

"Dude!" Honda's hushed voice came immediately after.

She chuckled, keeping her attention on Bakura. "So, please come."

He nodded. "I will."

"Okay," She confirmed with a big smile as she turned to walk toward Jonouchi and Honda, who were engrossed in a discussion about food. She stopped a few steps in, and turned back around once again. "I'm sorry, again, about earlier."

"It was just a little shock," He said with a smile as he showed her his palm. "Don't worry, I'm not hurt."

"Okay," She replied looking at his palm, then subsequently looking at her own palm. "I'll see you soon."

With that, she jogged over to the boys' current location next to the entrance gates. She scanned her entrance card, and was instantly granted access. She reminded herself to thank Ryuji for making her fill up her card before he left. The boys walked toward the train headed toward the pier with Ayame closely following them. She returned her railcard to her wallet and watched the two continue to have a conversation. It bothered her little that she wasn't involved in it, but at least she wasn't alone. She looked up to the ceiling and mentally thanked whomever was watching over her.

"You're going to run into something if you keep looking at the ceiling," Honda cautioned, snapping Ayame back to reality

"No, I-"

Regardless of the warning, she did run into something, or rather someone. She scrambled to compose herself and bowed in apology to the stranger.

"Here we thought you had it together," Jonouchi joked.

"Goodness, you sound just like Ryuji," She half-pouted as she walked past them.

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?" Jonouchi teased, stopping her in her tracks.

She scoffed and turned around to face him. "More like my brother."

"You have a brother?" He asked curiously.

"No, he's my best friend," She corrected.

He raised his eyebrow and adopted a smug look. "Which means not your boyfriend yet."

"Which means never will be," She retorted.

"You say that now," He said in a sing-song voice as he bent over to say it to her face.

"Can we stop?" She asked, her voice noticeably raised and irritated.

Honda chuckled at their banter as the train soon pulled up to the platform. "Okay, lovebirds, the train is here."

"Shut up, Honda!" They said in unison. They looked at each other and laughed. Jonouchi offered his hand up for a high-five, which Ayame slapped gently. Jonouchi bent over with his hands on his hips. "What kind of high five was that? I thought you had a guy-best-friend-slash-future-boyfriend!"

It was a comment that earned a slap in the arm, a rare action that so far only Ryuji has had the honor of receiving. Jonouchi yelped both in pain and surprise. With a 'hmph', Ayame boarded the train, leaving the two boys behind in shock and borderline apprehension.

"She showed you," Honda joked pointing to the fresh red handprint on his bicep.

"Shut up, man," Jonouchi retorted covering his wound with his opposite hand.

They boarded the train to find Ayame standing and holding a handlebar to stabilize herself for when the train started moving. They took hold of the handlebars on either side of her. The train announced that it was leaving the terminal, and as the train left not a second after the doors closed. The trio rode out the remainder of the trip in silence, with Jonouchi occasionally rubbing his arm, Honda occasionally looking at the location names occasionally illuminating on the marquee, and Ayame gazing out of the window with a smile on her face.

Toward the end of the trip, she looked down at her hand, her body reliving the experience of electricity and warmth rushing through her nervous system. She closed her hand and opened it again, causing the sensation to stop. She sighed.

The automated system alerted the riders of the arrival at the pier district. Ayame let go of the handlebar as the train came to a halt. It would be a thought for another time, or for when she saw Bakura next.

Ryo Bakura lingered in the area for another ten minutes before swiping his railcard at the entrance gate. Going through the motions, he walked silently toward the train terminal for the pier district. He stood at the edge of the platform looking out toward the business district of Domino. A smirk came to his face as two locks of hair near his face slowly raised a few inches. A faint golden glow emitted from beneath his sweater in the shape of the Millennium Ring, the ancient Egyptian artifact his friends were sure was somewhere in the forest of Pegasus's Duelist Kingdom island.

"Well, this is an interesting development," Bakura said to no one in particular.

He looked down at his hand and clenched his fist, remembering the sensation his host felt not long ago. It didn't mean much to him, but the spirit of the ring knew better.

The train soon arrived, and not a second too early.

The glow of his ring dimmed to nothing, his hair remaining the way it was. He boarded the train holding onto a handlebar at the end of the car. He smirked as he watched the train terminal fade from view.

'Let's not keep Miss Ayame waiting, shall we?' He thought to himself as he looked toward the ocean that was slowly coming into view.