The Millennium Ring had the power to sense bad omens, and right now it was saying that Yugi was in trouble. Ryou paced up and down the sidewalk outside the Black Crown game shop, trying to decide what to do. He wanted desperately to go inside and help Yugi, but the shop was closed.
"If worst comes to worst, I'll take over and force my way inside the building," said the Ring Spirit. "But I doubt it'll come to that. Yugi's probably just playing a game with someone who's after the Millennium Puzzle again. He'll be fine."
Ryou nodded. "Right. I need to have faith in him."
Ryou continued to stand outside the game shop, waiting for his friend to come out safely. There was no reason to worry, right? Yugi's other self had stood up to many life-threatening challenges before. He never lost a game.
Then, around an hour later, one of the Millennium Ring's prongs began to point towards the shop. Ryou didn't know what it meant, but the Spirit sure did; something was happening to the Millennium Puzzle.
The Ring Spirit promptly took control of Ryou's body. "Che, what a troublesome king," he said, and then he broke into the building.
Ryou wasn't conscious to see what the Spirit did to help Yugi, but whatever it was, it seemed effective. When Ryou woke up again, the game was over, and all the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle were safely back in Yugi's hands.
But then Otogi's father kidnapped Yugi, trapped him behind a hidden door, and accidentally set the building on fire. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end because Jounouchi saved Yugi from the burning building and they both went to the hospital. Jounouchi's burns weren't severe enough to cause him to miss school, but Yugi had to stay overnight at the hospital for a few days. His friends came to visit him as often as they could. Even Otogi showed up to apologize for all the trouble he caused.
Everyone, including Yugi's other self, forgave Otogi quite easily and befriended him. Otogi was happy, but confused.
"I tried to take your Millennium Puzzle. In fact, I dedicated my entire life to it. How can you forgive me just like that?" Otogi said.
"It wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it, okay? Let's just be friends from now on," Yugi said.
"Yugi…thank you," Otogi breathed, voice caught in his throat. He didn't know what he was feeling. Hopeful? Lost? Perhaps a mixture of both. A large burden had been removed from his shoulders. But at the same time, his entire life's meaning had changed, and he had lost direction.
"How's your father doing?" Anzu asked.
"All things considered, he's doing pretty well," said Otogi, smiling. "For years, I've been telling him to let go of his lust for revenge, and now he finally has after meeting Yugi and seeing how kind he actually is. I think, for the first time in my life, we might become a proper family."
"That's good to hear!" said Ryou.
Otogi nodded. For a moment, Yugi and Otogi looked at each other, smiling. Then Otogi got embarrassed and looked away.
"So, are you going to rebuild the Black Crown?" Yugi asked nervously.
Otogi paused for a moment and then shook his head. "The only reason my father and I went into the gaming business was to get revenge against Yugi's grandpa. I don't think either of us want to rebuild the game shop, considering all the horrible things that happened in there. Besides, I don't want to take business away from your game shop, Yugi."
Yugi nodded, relieved.
"So then what are you going to do from now on?" Honda asked.
"I don't know yet. I've never actually thought about what I'd do if the revenge plan didn't work out," said Otogi.
"You're free now. You can do whatever you want," said Jounouchi.
"Yeah!" said Ryou. "I could show you how to play tabletop RPGs."
"I think he was talking about careers, not hobbies," Honda said, slapping a palm to his forehead.
"Oh," Ryou fell silent. "Well, uh. Maybe you could try…cooking?"
"Cooking?" said Otogi.
"Ryou, that's a stupid idea," said Jounouchi. "Men don't – "
"Cooking sounds like fun! Maybe I'll open up a restaurant," Otogi said, deep in thought. "Or maybe a café. I always did like visiting cafés."
"You were saying?" Anzu smirked teasingly at Jounouchi. "Men don't what?"
Jounouchi grumbled to himself, but then recovered. "Yeah, cooking's a great idea! Let's try that," he smiled with forced enthusiasm.
After that, the friends joked and laughed together as they bonded over stories of their past while Jounouchi and Yugi played Duel Monsters. They recounted their adventures together in Duelist Kingdom, filling Otogi in on all the details. Eventually Honda needed to go home and take Blankey for a walk, Anzu had to go to work, and Jounouchi went to fetch drinks. That meant Yugi, Otogi, and Ryou finally had time to talk about what happened at the Black Crown the other day.
"So Yugi, do all people with Millennium Items develop a split personality, or is it just you?" Otogi asked.
"Well, Pegasus didn't have a split personality, so I doubt that all people with Items have one," said Yugi.
"Then what about Bakura?" Otogi whispered, soft enough so that only Yugi could hear.
They both glanced over at where Ryou was sitting, staring off into space, completely zoned out. It took him a few seconds to realize that his friends were staring at him. Blinking innocently a few times, he smiled and waved.
"He's got one, technically, but we don't talk about it often." Yugi whispered back.
"What are you whispering about?" Ryou asked.
Yugi hesitated, then gathered his courage and said, "Bakura, are you wearing the Ring again?"
Ryou became nervous. "Did you tell the others?"
"Not yet," said Yugi. "I haven't even told my other self. But the question is, should I?"
"I don't think any of them will take it well if they knew," said Ryou.
"Did something bad happen in the past regarding Bakura's other personality?" Otogi asked, trying to follow the conversation.
"I don't really consider him my other personality. To me, he's just a spirit who resides in the Millennium Ring," Ryou said.
"He trapped our souls into figurines and forced us to play a game with him for the possession of my Millennium Puzzle," said Yugi.
"So he's kind of like me, except for the thing about the figurines," Otogi said.
"He trapped many other people into figurines too, including my friends from my previous school and all the people who bullied me. They ended up in comas for a while," said Ryou.
"That explains the strange rumors surrounding you," Otogi mused.
"But he's changed," Ryou insisted. "Please believe me, Yugi, he's changed for the better. I think he can really help us in times of trouble."
Yugi nodded. "Yeah. He helped me a lot during that game of D.D.D. I think we can trust him, for now."
Ryou smiled, relieved. "And let's keep this a secret from the others, okay? It's easier than having to explain everything."
Yugi nodded.
"Otogi, don't tell the others that I'm wearing the Ring, okay?" Ryou said.
"If that's what you want, sure," said Otogi.
Jounouchi suddenly burst in through the door. "Sorry it took me so long! There was some other guy who was holding up the line," he said, handing Yugi a soda.
"Thanks, Jounouchi," Yugi said.
"So, are you ready to play another round of Duel Monsters?" said Jounouchi.
"You bet!" said Yugi reaching for his deck.
"Get ready, because I'm totally going to win this time!" said Jounouchi.
"I doubt it," Otogi muttered.
"Hey! I heard that!" said Jounouchi.
They all broke out into laughter at Jounouchi's expense. Before starting the game, Yugi briefly made eye contact with Ryou and winked.