Ryou was finally driven out of his self-imposed isolation by hunger. In a way he was grateful for the cramps; they helped him concentrate on something other than the darkness within him. The white-haired boy pulled himself out of bed and dressed himself absently. "Maybe he won't come back." Ryou thought. Verily, halfway through the sleepless night, the spirit had tired of tormenting his host and returned to his ring. Ryou padded down into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. As he ate, he thought, "I wonder where he is." Tentatively, Ryou reached out a finger of thought to the self-proclaimed stealer of souls. Nothing. He had just let out a small sigh of relief and turned to put his plate in the sink when white-hot pain erupted behind his eyes. Screaming in pure agony, Ryou collapsed to the floor. The plate shattered next to him, sending shards of ceramic into his pale skin. Bakura materialized, slightly transparent, in front his vessel, momentarily shocking Ryou out of his haze of pain. The spirit had never manifested himself physically before. The two were almost exactly identical; only the cruelty that cloaked one distinguished them. Coldly, Bakura stated, "Do that again, and I will kill you." Ryou whimpered his submission. "Good." Without warning, Bakura invaded the other's mind and assumed control. Grinning ferally, he began picking the splinters of plate out of his arms.
"How's Yugi?" Tea's voice was slightly muffled as a result of her face being buried in Yami's chest. They had sat, intertwined, for the past fifteen minutes in contented silence. "A little stunned, just like we are. Do you want to talk to him?" Tea nodded eagerly. A second and a burst of light later, her best friend stood before her. "Are you all right?" spilled from both of their mouths at the same time. Tea laughed, releasing tension she hadn't known she was carrying, and replied, "I'm very well, considering that I just found out I was the Queen of Egypt." Yugi made an overly elaborate bow, saying "Glad to hear it, Your Majesty." They both found this unbearably funny and fell to the ground in giggles. Ancient Egyptians or not, Yugi and Tea were undeniably still teenagers. The girl sobered suddenly and asked hesitantly, "Are you ok with the….relationship Yami and I have?" Yugi regarded her thoughtfully for a moment and replied, "You're my best friend, Tea, and you know I love you. And I feel like Yami is a part of me. There are going to be problems, but I'm willing to accept them if it makes you and Yami happy." Tea's eyes filled with tears as she pulled Yugi into a tight hug. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you, Yugi." she whispered.
Just then, another torrent of memories swamped Tea's mind and she moaned as her stomach lurched. But her physical discomfort paled in comparison to the emotional anguish she felt. For the memory of the night Yami disappeared had slipped into place and she was overcome by misery. Yugi frantically tried in vain to comfort the sobbing girl, but quickly determined that he was not getting anywhere. He let Yami take over, and watched worriedly from his soul room. The pharaoh gently but firmly grasped Tea's chin and tilted her face up to his. "Look at me! I'm right here!" His voice snapped Tea out of her shell and she slumped against Yami again. She sighed, shaking her head. "This is getting harder." It was maddening for Yami, who could anticipate the painful memories his love would have to experience all over again, to not be able to help at all. Suddenly very tired of the grimy bathroom, he suggested, "Let's go. I'll take you home." Tea nodded and let him help her up. As they stepped into the hallway, they found Ishizu waiting. "I hope what I have bestowed upon you is not too distressing. It was necessary for you to know." Yami and Tea nodded and let the woman lead them back to the ground floor. Ishizu bade them a warm farewell, and Yami had the feeling that he had not seen the last of this unfathomable individual.
Tea was surprised by how dark it was; she had spent longer in the museum than she had thought. She and Yami walked in silence, hand in hand, through the dusk that was only punctuated by the occasional streetlight. The lights became less and less frequent as they neared Tea's house, allowing the star-filled sky to pierce through the light-pollution. Just as the girl moved to open the door, Yami reached out and stilled her hand. He brought it to his lips, smiling. She smiled back and wrapped her free arm around his neck. Tea pulled Yami down and felt the touch of his lips for the first time in five millennia. The embrace quickly became heated, and Tea opened her eyes to find his darkened with longing. She felt the ancient part of herself rise to match, and she kissed Yami with abandon and pressed herself even closer. As right as it felt, however, this sudden uprising of uncontrollable emotion frightened Tea and she drew back. Fighting a nearly irrepressible surge of need even as she spoke, she addressed a worried and confused Yami; "I-I just can't. Not right now." He nodded in understanding, kissed her once more, and disappeared into the shadows he embodied.
Bakura wandered aimlessly through the night, a purloined leather coat concealing his bandaged arms. Its rightful owner now lay in an alley with a severe concussion. It was good to be out at last, he thought. It had been trying to simply watch his nauseatingly friendly little host run around with his equally disgusting friends. Almost immediately, the spirit corrected himself. The Tea girl could not be considered disgusting by anyone's standards. Furthermore, Bakura recognized her. His lips twisted in a smirk when he pictured stealing the pharaoh's most prized possession of all.