Ryou waved goodbye at his friends and said, "I'll see you at school on
Monday." They slowly waved back at him and drove off into the night. With
a sigh Ryou turned away from the street and walked up his front steps to
his house. Ryou could only make out darkness inside his house as he
unlocked the door and stepped inside.
"Father? I'm home!" Ryou called, walking into the living room where his father spent most of his time. The lights were off and the only sound was the low humming of the furnace in the basement. /I wonder where my father is. He usually only goes out on Friday nights, not Saturday nights. Maybe he just went to have a drink with one of his friends... yes, that must be where he is./ Despite the uneasiness in Ryou's thoughts, he walked into the kitchen to make himself some dinner.
When he walked into the kitchen he looked at the clock above the phone; 9:16. /It's still early. My father doesn't get home until 1 a.m. on one of his drinking nights. That's only four hours until he should be home./ Ryou went over to a cupboard and opened it. He looked in and decided on the Oriental Ramen for dinner.
After Ryou ate he went upstairs to take a hot shower. He walked into the bathroom and started to run the water. While waiting for it to warm up, Ryou sat on the toilet and closed his eyes. /"I originally wanted Joey to have it, but Yami says it's best for you to own the puzzle."/ Ryou started to develop a lump in his throat as he thought about Yuugi's words to him. /"Take care of Yami and the others... In the world I'm hoping to go to, I'll feel no pain and have no worries... It'll be where true happiness exists; like heaven./
Ryou knew that Yuugi's death wouldn't fully click until school on Monday: not seeing Yuugi fumbling with his too tall of a locker, not being able to laugh at Yuugi's clumsiness as he carries those heavy books, not looking into those big, amethyst eyes that sometimes looked empty, or not being able to watch his other side duel. His other side... "Crap!" Ryou smacked his forehead as he looked down at his Millenium Puzzle. /How could I forget? I was just thinking about it earlier!/
Unsure of what to do, Ryou just stared down at the puzzle. /What do I say to the puzzle? Do I just do the same thing as when I used to talk to Bakura through our mindlink? Will Yami answer me back?/ Ryou sighed and thought for a few seconds. With only the running water in the background, he closed his eyes and concentrated.
The only thought in his mind now was Yami. Ryou only thought of Yami and tried to send a message to him, "Are you there?" With his mind still open, Ryou continued to sit atop the toilet seat and waited for a reply back to him. A few minutes passed by before Ryou tried again, "Yami? Are you in there?"
More minutes ticked away as Ryou began to worry. /What if he's not there? What if he disappeared along with... Yuugi?/ Ryou shook those thoughts out of his head. Maybe he was trying to hard; when he spoke to Bakura through their mindlink he just opened his mind to the other and spoke. He was doing the same thing with Yami, right?
The sound of water came flooding back into Ryou's mind. /Oh! I forgot.../ Ryou turned the bathtub knob, so water would come spraying out of the shower head. He stripped out of his clothes and the Puzzle before stepping into the shower. The hot water felt refreshing as Ryou just stood there, inviting the warmth to his body.
When his body was fully heated, he stuck his head under the raining water and ran his slender hands through his silver hair. He continued to run his hands through his hair and massage his Raspberry Wild shampoo(A/N: I don't know what kind of shampoo Ryou uses, but it'd be great if he used this!) into his scalp. Feeling satisfied, Ryou rinsed his hair free from the shampoo and turned the shower off. Grabbing a towel from the rack, Ryou stepped out of the heat capsule and dried off his cleansed body.
After drying himself, Ryou wrapped the towel around his waist, grabbed his old clothes and Puzzle, and stepped out of the bathroom. The house was still oddly quiet as Ryou made his way to his bedroom. Making sure he didn't break the Puzzle, Ryou placed it on his bed. To bring more light into his dark room, Ryou switched on his lamp on the nightstand and made his way to the dresser. He shed his towel as he pulled open the top drawer and pulled out a pair of navy blue boxers. With a shrug, Ryou pulled on the article and closed the drawer.
Since it was a cold night, Ryou bent down and opened the bottom drawer. After a few seconds of digging, he finally found what he was looking for; his light blue pajamas that had yellow duckies on it, the ones that Yuugi laughed at whenever he saw them. Smiling faintly, Ryou dressed himself in the ridiculous sleeping outfit and walked over to his bed. He grabbed the Millenium Puzzle and placed it around his slender neck.
Ryou pulled the covers on his bed so he could slide into the welcoming warmth and comfort. He reached his hand out to the source of light and switched it off. The sudden darkness made Ryou huddle more into his covers, for the dark only reminded him of his solitude. His father was gone and without Bakura, Ryou had no one else. /No one else... what about Yami? I know he's here, in the Millenium Puzzle, because I can sense his presence. Maybe I can talk to him. I'm a little too tired right now so I'll just do it tomorrow./
As sleep started to envelop Ryou, the only thoughts in his mind were the night's earlier events; how Yuugi looked so serene as he died...
"Father? I'm home!" Ryou called, walking into the living room where his father spent most of his time. The lights were off and the only sound was the low humming of the furnace in the basement. /I wonder where my father is. He usually only goes out on Friday nights, not Saturday nights. Maybe he just went to have a drink with one of his friends... yes, that must be where he is./ Despite the uneasiness in Ryou's thoughts, he walked into the kitchen to make himself some dinner.
When he walked into the kitchen he looked at the clock above the phone; 9:16. /It's still early. My father doesn't get home until 1 a.m. on one of his drinking nights. That's only four hours until he should be home./ Ryou went over to a cupboard and opened it. He looked in and decided on the Oriental Ramen for dinner.
After Ryou ate he went upstairs to take a hot shower. He walked into the bathroom and started to run the water. While waiting for it to warm up, Ryou sat on the toilet and closed his eyes. /"I originally wanted Joey to have it, but Yami says it's best for you to own the puzzle."/ Ryou started to develop a lump in his throat as he thought about Yuugi's words to him. /"Take care of Yami and the others... In the world I'm hoping to go to, I'll feel no pain and have no worries... It'll be where true happiness exists; like heaven./
Ryou knew that Yuugi's death wouldn't fully click until school on Monday: not seeing Yuugi fumbling with his too tall of a locker, not being able to laugh at Yuugi's clumsiness as he carries those heavy books, not looking into those big, amethyst eyes that sometimes looked empty, or not being able to watch his other side duel. His other side... "Crap!" Ryou smacked his forehead as he looked down at his Millenium Puzzle. /How could I forget? I was just thinking about it earlier!/
Unsure of what to do, Ryou just stared down at the puzzle. /What do I say to the puzzle? Do I just do the same thing as when I used to talk to Bakura through our mindlink? Will Yami answer me back?/ Ryou sighed and thought for a few seconds. With only the running water in the background, he closed his eyes and concentrated.
The only thought in his mind now was Yami. Ryou only thought of Yami and tried to send a message to him, "Are you there?" With his mind still open, Ryou continued to sit atop the toilet seat and waited for a reply back to him. A few minutes passed by before Ryou tried again, "Yami? Are you in there?"
More minutes ticked away as Ryou began to worry. /What if he's not there? What if he disappeared along with... Yuugi?/ Ryou shook those thoughts out of his head. Maybe he was trying to hard; when he spoke to Bakura through their mindlink he just opened his mind to the other and spoke. He was doing the same thing with Yami, right?
The sound of water came flooding back into Ryou's mind. /Oh! I forgot.../ Ryou turned the bathtub knob, so water would come spraying out of the shower head. He stripped out of his clothes and the Puzzle before stepping into the shower. The hot water felt refreshing as Ryou just stood there, inviting the warmth to his body.
When his body was fully heated, he stuck his head under the raining water and ran his slender hands through his silver hair. He continued to run his hands through his hair and massage his Raspberry Wild shampoo(A/N: I don't know what kind of shampoo Ryou uses, but it'd be great if he used this!) into his scalp. Feeling satisfied, Ryou rinsed his hair free from the shampoo and turned the shower off. Grabbing a towel from the rack, Ryou stepped out of the heat capsule and dried off his cleansed body.
After drying himself, Ryou wrapped the towel around his waist, grabbed his old clothes and Puzzle, and stepped out of the bathroom. The house was still oddly quiet as Ryou made his way to his bedroom. Making sure he didn't break the Puzzle, Ryou placed it on his bed. To bring more light into his dark room, Ryou switched on his lamp on the nightstand and made his way to the dresser. He shed his towel as he pulled open the top drawer and pulled out a pair of navy blue boxers. With a shrug, Ryou pulled on the article and closed the drawer.
Since it was a cold night, Ryou bent down and opened the bottom drawer. After a few seconds of digging, he finally found what he was looking for; his light blue pajamas that had yellow duckies on it, the ones that Yuugi laughed at whenever he saw them. Smiling faintly, Ryou dressed himself in the ridiculous sleeping outfit and walked over to his bed. He grabbed the Millenium Puzzle and placed it around his slender neck.
Ryou pulled the covers on his bed so he could slide into the welcoming warmth and comfort. He reached his hand out to the source of light and switched it off. The sudden darkness made Ryou huddle more into his covers, for the dark only reminded him of his solitude. His father was gone and without Bakura, Ryou had no one else. /No one else... what about Yami? I know he's here, in the Millenium Puzzle, because I can sense his presence. Maybe I can talk to him. I'm a little too tired right now so I'll just do it tomorrow./
As sleep started to envelop Ryou, the only thoughts in his mind were the night's earlier events; how Yuugi looked so serene as he died...