So this might be becoming a thing, I'll just have to see where it ends up taking me. I'm not 100% set on Batteryshipping becoming more than just platonic - if you have any opinions on the matter, let me know! I wouldn't mind them becoming more, but I also know it's not for everyone's tastes.

There's gonna be some original timeline only Wishshipping, just FYI.

Unbeta'd, my mistakes think they're tough.

"The RPG has to be a Shadow Game. It can't just be a normal game."

"You're kiddin' me."

Bakura sighs over the phone. It's a long walk to school and the streets are quiet - Jounouchi's not going to run into anyone who'll try to interrupt.

Following the timeline as it is seems to be the safest option for now, but surely they can change some things around. Jounouchi has no interest in becoming a sculpture again.

"If you have another way of drawing out the other Yugi out so they can acknowledge each other as separate entities, I'm all ears. There's a reason we were brought back to this date - it's a vital stepping stone in Yugi's life. He won't emerge unless Yugi feels like he or his friends are in danger, you know that. Bakura's the best we've got in order to make that happen."

Damn. And here he was hoping they could skip that little incident. "Wouldn't fixin' the Puzzle be more important? Why weren't we sent there, anyway?"

"That was probably too volatile an event to mess around with, on a spiritual level. The RPG was - is - much safer for us to change without erasing the vital part of the event."

Bakura certainly sounds confident, but Jounouchi's not convinced. He always was good at pretending he wasn't in over his head. The device is heavy in his pocket and Jounouchi wonders how much that applies to himself too.

"I get the feeling you're just makin' shit up as you go along here."

"Pretty much. But if it works it works, right?"

Jounouchi can't help snorting. Bakura's never one for tact either, even when it comes to himself.

"... Alright. I'm countin' on you to keep Bakura on a short leash. No traps or rocks or traps made of rocks."

Bakura stifles a laugh, which Jounouchi feels like he hasn't heard for a long time. It's nice. "Not an issue. He's planning on surrendering before you reach the final boss regardless of how the Game goes. He thinks invoking his name might attract too much attention."

"Good call. See you later, I guess."

He's at the school gate by the time he hangs up, early like always. He's got his homework for the day done, apparently before the point that he resets at (which is great, because he understands it even less now. Not his fault he hasn't had to think about the Muromachi period in almost a decade!).

Usually, he'd wait at the school gate for the others to arrive. This time, he heads inside the moment the gates are unlocked and heads to class. He's the first one there and dumps his stuff on his desk without care.

Then he stands by the window and waits.

When he first catches sight of those familiar spikes he's so glad he decided to come inside rather than wait out for them, because he has to lean on the wall to keep upright and he has no idea how he could've explained his shaky legs to Yugi.

He's right there, walking across the courtyard with his puzzle around his neck. He doesn't look concerned about anything. He's not glancing around wide-eyed remembering just how much the city managed to change from now, not a little ruffled from automatically trying to head down streets and shortcuts that flat out don't exist. He's not looking for anyone familiar and he's not imagining anyone's last moments play out in his head as he recognizes people, who's faces he'd never think he'd remember.

He doesn't look like someone who's seen how everything ends.

Jounouchi sighs. He shouldn't have snapped at Bakura in the last reset. He's got more experience dealing with 'normal' grief so it makes sense that he'd come around to everything better than him. How can you possibly mourn someone who's not dead yet as far as the universe is concerned?

Yugi died. So did Shizuka. Anzu and Honda. Grandpa and Yugi's mom, Mai, the Ishtars. Kaiba and Mokuba. Bakura died too. He retreats back to his desk and sits at his chair and slumps onto his arms. If anyone came in they would assume he was getting a few last moments of sleep before class started.

He doesn't bother lifting his head when the door slides open and someone comes in.

"Good morning Jounouchi!"

Oh god.

Now he's really glad he wasn't outside because his eyes burn and tears prickle at the corners just at his voice. He subtly tries to wipe them away before he lifts his head, feigning a yawn.

"Mornin', Yugi."

Yugi looks concerned. He always was perceptive - no, Yugi is perceptive.

They're both true statements. He hates it.

Yugi is dead but Yugi is alive. He can't call one 'his' Yugi, because they're both 'his' Yugi.

His head hurts.

"Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good."

"Nah, just another all-nighter. That essay was a real kick in the teeth, right?"

"Yeah, tell me about it! I couldn't find anything in the textbook at all. I even asked Mom and Grandpa for help and they had no idea."

Jounouchi grins - it's a little forced around the edges, but hopefully Yugi won't suspect anything beyond his headache. "I bet he gave us the wrong paper or somethin'. Maybe we'll all get a pass because he screwed up!"

That seems to appease Yugi, for now at least. Honda arrives next, ruffling his hair as he passes and Anzu is last, dashing in with the last few students a few seconds before the teacher comes in.

Kaiba's seat is empty, as he knew it would be. The seat next to Jounouchi is empty too.

"Alright, settle down everyone. We have a new student joining us today. Please welcome Ryou Bakura!"

It's amazing how little changes from the first time around. The sound of a dozen or so students falling in love at first sight is hard to forget. Now that he's a little more sure in himself, he's not too embarrassed to admit he can see the appeal too.

There's a few differences though, that nobody else will pick up on. Bakura's more confident in his step and he stands a little taller. That air of melancholy he had the first time is practically non-existent, not that Jounouchi expected it to be there in the first place. He's not just biding his time until the next lot of friends end up in comas, after all. The cord of the Ring is around his neck, a little more visible than he thought it would be, though the Ring's outline isn't visible.

He meets Jounouchi's eyes for a fraction of a second, but then they might as well be strangers as he rattles off the standard introduction.

Jounouchi hadn't noticed the first time around, too busy evaluating the new kid, but there's a tiny flush appearing on Yugi's cheeks as he watches Bakura. That would've saved a lot of angst on Jounouchi's part in the future if he had and he wants to kick himself for not picking up on it sooner. They might've been able to have more time together, rather than dancing around in a mutual 'I don't want to ruin our friendship but what if' thing for way too long.

He's not doing anything this time around.

He can't.

He doesn't want to fall in love with Yugi again, because Yugi might still die at Zorc's hands and he knows he won't survive the man he loves dying a second time. Especially since this second time would be nothing but Jounouchi's fault, because he'd failed to stop Zorc's return.

Plus Yugi's like, sixteen. Jounouchi is physically the same age, but his mind is twenty five.

Even if by some miracle Yugi falls for him, when they're both older and the age gap not so impassable, he's got to say no. He'll only end up comparing him to Yugi. It's going to be tough - hell, it's already tough - but he's just going to have to deal with it, isn't he?

Bakura is directed to sit by him again. A few classmates take it upon themselves to warn Bakura that Jounouchi's just a bad influence again, like they're not the ones who run around after school pretending they're a tough street gang and throwing rocks at passing cars. Bakura ignores them again, offering him a smile.

He appreciates it as much now as he did back then.