Disclaimer: Like anyone reads this anyways…tsk, tsk.

Author Note: Sorry for the long delay for the update. School happens to kick me every once and awhile, and I had this essay I had to do. (Boo, hiss) And so here it is, and I must warn you the end is slowly approaching. Gasp! So onward and outward we go. Three cheers for 60 reviews and 3368 hits. I am so impressed with all of the love I am getting. Thank you!


The white haired boy cocked his head to the side and examined the side door to the Kame Game Shop. The actual business did not open until the late afternoon, and Ryou was unsure how he was supposed to tell Yugi that he had arrived. He saw a small red button on the side of the doorway, and tentatively pressed it. A sharp and incredibly loud buzzing noise made his heart almost stop, as he jumped a foot in the air.

He waited patiently, reluctant to try the demon buzzer again, until the door opened wide, revealing a panting Yugi. The amethyst eyed teen managed a smile. "Hi there Ryou, it really has been forever. Nice to see you."

Ryou covered a smile. Yugi's shirt was inside out, and his boot laces were dragging on the floor. Even more amusing was the fact that a long spike of his gravity defying hair leaned a bit to the left. "Nice to see you too, Yugi." The brown eyes crinkled in amusement. "Sorry, did I rush you?"

The shorter boy shook his head, and felt his hair slipping out of place. He yelped and apology, and dashed back inside to the bathroom. Ryou heard his stumbling steps up the stairs, and allowed himself a chuckle. He cautiously stepped inside, and pulled the door shut. He waited for his brown eyes to shed their blindness and adjust to the unnatural inside lighting.

Yugi's house, situated above and behind the Game shop, was quite well kept. Ryou was standing in the entranceway that led to the stairs. He looked down at his sneakers, and then jumped back. He had been standing on an old and decrepit rug, that had a vividly Egyptian pattern laced though it. Yugi's rushed decent from the stairs caused Ryou to look up at his friend.

The teen smiled from his position on the last stair from the bottom. His hair had been tamed, his boots laced and his shirt righted. Yugi smiled at the rug. "My grandpa brought it back in some of his travels. Don't worry about standing on it; it has always been the welcome mat."

"Something so nice shouldn't just be used to wipe your feet on," Ryou commented lightly, then smiled. "You ready to get going, Yugi?" he teetered a bit from determinedly keeping his shoes off of the rug and on the small strip of hardwood to the side instead.

Yugi lightly jumped down the last stair, and jerked his head to the side. "Why don't we just stay here and talk? My grandpa is out, and when he does get back I am sure he wont bother us anyways."

"But…but…" Ryou stuttered. "What about what I wanted to show you?"

"Oh, right." Yugi shrugged, and moved to the door. "Lead the way." He pulled the door open, revealing the bright sunshine, and the light breeze of early summer. "What is it you want to show me anyways, Ryou?" he followed his friend, and then turned to shut and lock the door behind him.

Yugi turned back, and looked around. "Ryou?" he called, confused. "He was here a second ago…" he shielded his eyes with a hand and peered around the tree lined street. "Ryou?"

The white haired teen popped into view, causing Yugi to have a minor heart-attack. Ryou had his hands cupped in front of him, and resting in his palm was a small deep purple flower, and a smile covering his face. "Look," he exclaimed, all but shoving the flower in the smaller boy's face. "Spring flowers!"

Pressing a hand to his chest, Yugi smiled shakily back. "Yeah, I have seen a lot of them just bloom." He laughed at the pure amusement on Ryou's face. "You seem pretty upbeat for so early in the morning." He watched as the chocolate eyed youth let the wind pluck the flower from his hands and toss it around in the air.

"It's such a wonderful day outside!" Ryou leaned his head back to catch the sun on his pale skin. "It has been so long since…" he stopped abruptly and tugged on the hem of his sweater, a nervous smile on his face. "Sorry, Yugi. I guess we should get going."

Yugi dug his hands deep into his pockets and snuck glances at Ryou as they walked. The white haired boy seemed so different from the last time. He held himself differently, his back straight and his chin up. He looked happier, but there was still a deep sadness that he tried to hide behind his clear eyes. Yugi shook his head lightly, and followed his guide as they turned down the surprisingly busy morning streets.

"My apartment isn't that far from here," Ryou said, smiling down at Yugi. "It's kind of silly of us not to visit when we live so near, isn't it?" they both turned left onto a small back street that was lined with shops. "I guess it was because I—switched schools. How is the gang doing, anyways?"

Yugi was surprised to find how easy it was to fall into conversation with Ryou. He chatted about Jou and Kaiba's almost daily battles, and how everyone was still thoroughly amused by the puppy jokes.

Before long, Ryou stopped at a set of stairs that led up to a tall grey building. Yugi remembered it now; Ryou lived on the third floor. Unlike Jou, who lived in an apartment complex, the white haired teen lived in a townhouse apartment, where his door access was on the outside, so there was no need for buzzers or elevators. They trotted up the two flights of stairs, and Ryou pulled out his keys and stopped at a plain grey door numbered 310. He unlocked and opened it and motioned for Yugi to go first. The shorter boy smiled and stepped inside.

He looked around, surprised by how different the apartment was from the last time he had visited. It was immaculately kept, and smelled of cleaning products. There weren't any pictures or wall hangings; it looked as if he had just moved in, instead of living here for almost a year. The kitchen was directly to the left, and although it was a bright white, the lighting made the room seem dim. Yugi bent and untied his boots, placing them neatly on the side and out of the way of the door. Ryou did the same with his sneakers, revealing that he wore two miss-matched socks of navy and grey.

Noticing that Yugi was looking at his socks, Ryou smiled, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess I was a bit rushed this morning too." He motioned to the apartment. "You've been here before, but do you want a tour?"

The amethyst eyed teen blushed at being caught staring, and nodded. "Sure, that would be great. I barely remember the place." He followed behind Ryou, who lead him down a tiny hallway.

"Well you saw the kitchen on your way in. And here," he said, pausing in a rather empty room, "Is the parlor. There's not much here, sorry to say. I don't entertain much and when you live by yourself there isn't really a reason to decorate."

The room had a couch and a low dining table that had deep scratches gouged out of the wood. The carpet was a boring light grey, which matched the pale off white walls and the grey linen curtains that blocked out the daylight that tried to get through the large ceiling to floor window. Ryou held his arm out, and Yugi followed him to the next room.

As they walked down the hallway, Yugi let his eyes slide over the white walls. There was a patch on the wall of the hallway that smelled of new paint, and when Yugi discretely brushed his fingertips over it, they came back sticky with half dried paint. Ryou turned back over his shoulder, and Yugi hurriedly hid his fingers in his pocket. "This is my room," Ryou said, coming to a stop at an open door, and letting his hand rest on the doorknob, but not going inside.

Yugi thought it looked like the rest of the apartment, though it seemed as if the walls in Ryou's room were covered with holes. He was too far away to tell, but the holes looked not round, but long and thin, as if something had been forced through the plaster. The only color in the room was a series of small faded copper stains on the carpet. There were no pictures, or posters in the room, and it was dimly lit by one fluorescent light on the ceiling. It smelled lightly of bleach, with an underlying scent Yugi could not name. Something sickly sweet, or maybe like the acrid smell of old iron? Before he could think further on it, Ryou pulled the door almost shut, and turned.

"Now this is the bathroom…" he turned to look over his shoulder at Yugi, a smile on his lips that did not quite reach his eyes. "I guess it's redundant to say it's small too; everything here is." He pointed to the all white washroom, his face reflected in the medicine cabinet mirror. He turned back to Yugi, and shrugged. "That's about it."

Yugi tried to silence the feeling he had lurking in his mind—the feeling that everything was not as it seemed in this place—and smiled winningly back at his friend. "It's a really nice place, Ryou. It's perfect for one person. And you kept it really clean."

"Thank you!" Ryou shooed Yugi with a hand back in the direction of the parlor. "Now, let's have some tea and relax! There's so much to talk about!" Yugi let himself be guided to the couch, and sat down gingerly on the uncomfortable cushions.

Ryou paused, and put a hand to his ear. "Was that the phone?" he asked absently.

"I didn't hear anything—"

"Oops, there it is again!" Ryou waved a hand, and dashed down the hall, leaving Yugi to wait awkwardly in the much too empty room. The boy tapped his fingers on his legs, and sighed deeply. It was only then that he realized that this room too had the same underlying smell as Ryou's bedroom had. Yugi sniffed delicately, turning his head this way and that, trying to find out where it came from. He looked down the hallway, but saw no indication of Ryou. The boy stood from the couch and wandered the room, trying to find the source of the smell.

It got stronger in spots, and Yugi was sure that he would recognize it, but then it would fade and be replaced by the sharp smell of cleaners. A hand came down on his shoulder suddenly, and he yelped in alarm, spinning around. Ryou was standing there, looking a bit put out. Yugi laughed nervously. "You scared me, Ryou!"

"Sorry," Ryou reached to push a strand of his white hair out of his eyes. "Bad news, Yugi. I really have to take this call, it's from my family overseas. I really will try and keep it short. Would you mind waiting for a bit?" he bit his lip anxiously.

"Oh! Sure, Ryou, I can wait." Yugi looked around the room, but to his chagrin, did not see a TV, or a bookshelf. He was wracking his mind for a way to occupy himself, and then an idea came. "I can make us tea, if that's alright."

Ryou clapped his hands together. "Perfect. I shan't be more than a quarter of an hour, I'm sure." He turned and trotted down the hallway again. "Feel free to poke around. Tea's on the top shelf in the kitchen!" he called back, and then Yugi heard a door click shut.

The boy shrugged, and turned back to the parlor. He moved towards the window, and he inhaled deeply, he was certain the smell was coming from here. Yugi looked back; to make sure that Ryou wasn't coming. But when he heard a floorboard creak, he scurried over to the kitchen to busy himself with the tea. Yugi determinedly did not think of what was concealed behind those plain grey curtains, as he reached for the top shelf.

Meanwhile, Ryou was brushing himself off on the street below. He rubbed his elbow, and looked up at the open window of his bedroom he had just escaped out of. He had climbed partially down the side of the building, but had had to jump the last few feet. He pressed the timer button on his watch, and readjusted the backpack on his shoulders. Ryou sprinted away, his miss-matched socks pounding the pavement as he ran to the direction of Yugi's now empty house.


Ha ha, more drama. Sorry if this chapter was a little boring, I just had to do a bit of set up and description. Anyways, review please! Any exclaimations, questions, thoughts, or ideas are greatly apriciated. Thanks guys!