Prologue

The rain was coming down hard, in frozen chunks. It set a steady yet chaotic rhythm against the front windshield. It was dark out, and the headlights hardly illuminated the slick black road.

"Sorry I'm always gone," Ryou's father was saying over the low hum of the engine. Ryou just stared out the window, resting his head on his hand.

"Hm-mm," the silver-haired seventeen year old breathed. His father frowned and glanced back at the road.

"We'll fly out to England together, you won't have to speak this complex language anymore-"

"I thought you LIKED Japan," Ryou interjected, glancing painfully at his father. The man blinked.

"I... I do. It's just, the language is...," he tried.

"Difficult? Complex? Stupid?" Ryou said incriminatingly, looking out the window again. His father shifted uncomfortably. What had happened to his quiet, polite son?

"No, no. Not stupid. Just, the other two. I LIKE Japan. I LIKE japanese. It's just, hard. To be here...," he glanced down. "Without your mother..."

Ryou saddened. He sat up and put a hand on his father's shoulder. His father looked at him. "I... I'm sorry dad. I just had a hard day. I mean, we're only human, right?" he smiled, a small one, but his first smile in weeks. His father smiled too.

"Yes, we-" but suddenly theere was a loud honk. The glare of headlights in front of him. Ryou braced himself as his father served to the left- right into the river.

"Dad!" Ryou screamed as the car began to sink. Ryou's father was panic-stricken as he turned to look at his son. The car began to fill with water.

"I'm sorry Ryou... I love you...," he said quietly.

"Dad! What do we do!" Ryou begged, grabbing his dad's hand. It was warm, but rough. They held each other through that simple appendage, and through it, thoughts were conveyed. Ryou backed into the wall, sloshing water, getting as far as he could from his father. "We're... we're going to die..."

"I'm sorry Ryou... my son...," Mr. Bakura said softly. He closed his eyes. Ryou unbuckled.

"No! I'm getting out of here!" Ryou reached for the door, but his dad grabbed his hand.

"It'll just flood the car faster," his father said gently. Ryou scowled.

"Let it," and he opened the door. Under Ryou's shirt, the Millenium Ring began to glow.

"Not my host..."