Even though they had yet to see him, the rest of Ryou's friends knew he was out there somewhere. Joey didn't wait a day to tell everyone that Bakura was still alive. Nor did he hide any of the horrid details of his encounter with the former spirit of the millennium ring.
No matter how far he wandered, though, Bakura kept coming back to Domino to see what had happened to everyone.
From what he observed, Yugi must have taken over ownership of the game shop after his grandfather passed away. There was no millennium puzzle around his neck. Bakura mused that Yami Yugi must have passed on as well. He felt a pang of regret at that thought. But he knew exactly what happened to the good pharaoh.
He saw Tea through posters at the dance hall. She had done a couple of musicals, and toured on Broadway. Bakura longed to see her perform, but he knew that was impossible. He had seen her with Yugi on occasion. Perhaps the two were dating. Perhaps they were already married. His light used to comment on how those two were made for each other. And Bakura wouldn't be surprised if they eventually did settle down together.
He still saw Joey at the unloading docks of the big indoor market from time to time. One day, he even saw Mai there with him. She was carrying a little girl in her arms. The girl looked a lot like Joey. The expression in his face said it all – they were a family.
Tristan worked in a large office complex in downtown. He saw very little of him, though, and that was all he knew. He had certainly made a life for himself.
He had seen even less of Seto Kaiba, although he caught a glimpse of the Kaiba Corp. limousine passing by every now and then. Each time he saw it, he couldn't help but feel envious.
In fact, he was lost in those envious thoughts when he suddenly heard a strange voice cry out from down the street.
"That's the thief, officers! Over there!" a young woman shouted. "He's getting away!"
Bakura looked down. He was holding several pieces of fruit in his hands. He hardly remembered stealing them, having done it so often and for so long. Without another thought, he took off running away from the vendor.
"Stop! Thief!" he heard one of the policemen shout, but he didn't stop. Instead, he ducked into a nearby alleyway, and started climbing the chain link fence that separated it from an abandoned warehouse.
Almost over the top, he accidentally lost his footing. By the time he had recovered it, the police had also reached the alley. He jumped to the ground just as he heard the roar of that fearsome weapon. His body froze with pain as he felt one of the metal balls tear through his calf. He collapsed on the ground, his stolen breakfast falling from his hands. His leg was bleeding, and the metal ball was still inside. The police were scaling the fence.
"This can't be how it ends…" Bakura whispered to himself as he tried to stand. But it was hopeless. Every time he tried to put weight on the wounded leg, he would fall down again. He scanned the ground, looking for anything that he could use as a weapon.
"We have you now, thief!" one of the policemen shouted as he jumped in front of Bakura. The former spirit picked up a handful of dirt, and flung it into the officer's face. It stunned him, and he repeated the procedure with the other.
It bought him enough time to throw the fruit down the other alleyway. He wrapped his jacket around the open wound, so as not to leave a trail of blood, and climbed up an old fire escape. When the policemen regained their sight, they took off running in the direction he had thrown the produce, hoping to catch up.
Hours passed before Bakura slid back down. His calf stung, and what was left of his jacket was almost soaked with blood.
With nowhere in particular to go, he started limping to the east. Given the pain, he was surprised he could still move. By sunset, though, he had finally collapsed on the outskirts of a strange temple. It was a Buddhist monastery, just outside the city of Domino.
One of the monks, passing by the gates, found him, and carried him inside.