Living with Yami proved to be a lot easier than Ryou had feared. When it came right down to it, the two of them rarely even spoke; Yami predominantly spent his time at home tapping away at his computer while seated at the couch, having decided that the study was not for him. But Yami was still rarely there; he spent most of his time away from the apartment altogether. Sometimes he would be out so late that Ryou was asleep by the time he returned, or left so early that Ryou didn't see him leave. Often, nights would pass where Ryou thought he hadn't been home at all, only to find some mark of his presence; an item out of place, or something missing from the fridge.

Ryou couldn't imagine what he could be doing that demanded so much of his time. He had said that he simply did 'anything that needed doing', but what exactly did that mean?

Ryou usually left at seven-thirty and got home around four, but Yami had no general hours. Sometimes days would go by when the two of them didn't even see each other.

It had been almost a week since Yami moved in when they had their next proper conversation, and the fact that they were able to have it was because Ryou was home all Saturday, allowing his presence in the apartment to coincide with Yami's.

"So, what are you doing out there all day?"

It was ten o'clock in the morning. Yami had showed up half an hour beforehand, and was seated cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by various papers, his computer right in the middle.

Yami looked up. "Just…stuff."

Ryou paused, and tried to start up a conversation again. "What's all that stuff there?" he asked curiously.

Yami looked at the papers on the floor. "Blueprints, lists, records, that sort of thing."

Ryou sat down at the table, still watching Yami. "What's it all for?"

Yami looked as though he had to seriously consider his answer. "Finding someone."

"Are you one of those 'people finders', then?"

"Not really; I told you…I guess you'd call me a generalist; I do lots of different things for lots of different people."

"But, at the moment, you're finding someone?"

Yami nodded. "I am."

Ryou nodded. The conversation lulled into silence. "Who?"

"Hm?"

"Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

Yami smiled sadly. "Thanks, Ryou. But I don't think you can."

Ryou was confused. "Well, you're not doing too well on your own. You've been staying out at least sixteen hours a day for nearly a week and you haven't found whoever it is yet," he pointed out.

Yami set his jaw. "I'll find him. I always do."

Ryou wanted to say more, but he held himself back; after all, he didn't know the full story. He might say something that could offend Yami.

"Um..." Ryou stood up. "Hey, Yami? I...was wondering. Do you get out much? I mean, just for recreation, not looking for this person."

Yami smiled to himself. "Not so much anymore."

"Oh...because a bunch of my friends are going to play soccer tomorrow, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

Yami looked at Ryou. "Thanks, Ryou. That's a nice thought, I just don't think I can afford to. And I don't know any of your friends."

Ryou shrugged. "They don't care; they want more people. That's how I became friends with most of them in the first place."

"Really...thanks for the offer, but I can't."

Ryou sighed. "Okay, I just thought I'd better ask. I would have let you know sooner, but we've hardly even spoken since you moved in. Anyway, if you change your mind, just show up and give us a shout."

Yami looked surprised, but grateful. "I'll definitely do that if I get the chance to."

Ryou wasn't particularly great at soccer, but he wasn't bad either.

He showed up at the local soccer field about five minutes late. Yami had taken off again early that morning, and Ryou was somewhat disappointed – although, he had to admit, not surprised – that he wasn't there.

They divided into two teams and started without much ado. At first, Ryou's team took the lead, and then the others, then Ryou's again. It was quite a close match.

Ryou was having fun; he loved soccer. He even managed to score a goal within the first ten minutes of the game. His morale boosted, he found himself playing better than usual.

Suddenly, he noticed the ball go spinning past him on a course for out. Almost without thinking, he made a kick for it.

His foot gave way on the grass just as his other hurtled towards the ball, causing him to spin and topple sideways while he kicked. He barely even noticed the ball go spinning towards the goals as he hit the ground with a resounding thump.

The way he landed caused his elbow to dig into his side painfully, and his head smack down sickeningly. For a second, he lay there, winded, before everyone else crowded around him, asking if he was okay.

Ryou forced himself to sit up, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. "...Did it score?" he asked, looking up at the rest of the players.

They all burst out laughing. "Yeah, don't worry; you scored. Just don't kill yourself in the process."

Ryou took the hand offered to him and heaved himself up. "I'm okay." Experimentally, he touched the spot where his elbow had hit, and winced again. That was going to bruise something shocking.

"Hey, what happened here?"

For a second, Ryou didn't register the voice. But then a second later, it matched itself to a face in Ryou's head, and he spun around automatically, causing another painful cringe. "Yami! I thought you weren't coming!"

Yami had stopped a few feet away from the crowd, but when he saw Ryou at the centre of it, he pushed his way through. "Ryou, what the hell did you do?"

"It's nothing," Ryou insisted. "I fell on my elbow, that's all. But I got another goal in, which was good. Um, everyone, this is my room mate, Yami; he moved in a week ago."

Yami looked uncomfortable at suddenly being the centre of attention. Ryou suddenly realised that he had only ever seen Yami dressed one way, with his leather pants and sleeveless top. Seeing him in shorts and a t-shirt seemed almost comical, as it made his wild spiky hair look disproportionally bigger. After shaking a few hands and uttering a few greetings, Yami looked at Ryou again. "You don't look very comfortable. Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself?"

Ryou nodded. "Course I am; it was only grass I fell on. See," he finished, demonstrating by stretching in a few different directions. Involuntarily, he winced when the pain in his side returned.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Nice try. Here, let me see."

A week ago, Ryou would have been swamped with self-consciousness when Yami carefully rolled up part of his shirt while surrounded by the rest of his friends. But now, he didn't even think about the pain. All he could think about was Yami's hand, gently running over the tender spot. That hand...

"S- see? It's nothing; just a little bruising, that's all."

"Ryou, I think your rib is broken," Yami said matter-of-factly.

"And since when did you do first aid?" Ryou demanded, upset as having been contradicted.

"I don't, I just have experience with broken ribs."

Ryou frowned. "You can't tell that just from looking at it. You need an x-ray-"

"I can feel a fracture. Here, you feel it." Without waiting for an answer, Yami took his hand and gently guided his fingers to the fracture. Ryou wasn't even paying attention – Yami was holding his hand! He stared at Yami's face, grateful that he was paying attention to Ryou's rib and didn't catch him looking.

"Right here, see?"

Ryou jumped, pulling himself back into reality. "Oh...yeah. It's just little, though. I can still finish the game."

"You are doing no such thing."

"Who are you, my mother?" Ryou huffed.

"I'll have to be, if you don't have enough common sense of your own."

Ryou's face fell. "But I was having so much fun," he whined, hoping Yami would pity him. "We were winning!"

"Ryou, you just fractured a rib in order to score a goal. I think you've done enough for your team mates for one day."

Ryou looked away, knowing that Yami was right. He sighed. "Okay...fine. I'll just watch."

Yami nodded, satisfied.

Ryou suddenly became aware of his friends stares, at the same time he realised he still had his hand against his exposed side, with Yami's on top of it. The self-consciousness finally setting in, he pulled his hand away, as did Yami. He didn't dare meet any of their eyes. "Um...I'm sorry...you guys keep playing; don't worry about me. I'm really sorry," he mumbled, wishing he had a knife so he could try cutting the thickness of the atmosphere surrounding himself and his roommate.

While the rest of them returned to their game, Yami took Ryou to the soccer field's main building to get his wound checked. It didn't look very bad; it had only just started to hint at turning yellow, but it was becoming sorer by the minute.

After leaving Ryou alone on one of the benches, Yami returned with a bandage and tape. "This is just to hold it in place until we can see someone more professional than me," he explained, casually lifting Ryou's shirt off. Ryou's eyes boggled, realising that he was alone with Yami, and shirtless. He tried to push the thought away; Yami was bandaging a broken rib. That was all.

As Yami wrapped the bandage around Ryou, Ryou himself hesitated before saying quietly, "You came. I didn't think you would."

Yami smiled, not taking his eyes off his work. "Just be glad I did; otherwise you would have kept playing and this could have been a lot worse."

"Thank you, Yami," he whispered.

"No problem." He finished wrapping and picked up the bandage tape. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends."

"Oh – you don't need to be," Ryou said hastily. "You were right. Don't be sorry for being right."

"You...act differently around them."

"...I do?"

Yami nodded. "You're tenser, like you have to concentrate on what's going on in order to understand and act right. At home, you're more laid back."

"That was just because I'd just broken my rib," Ryou mumbled.

Yami stuck the tape to the bandage around Ryou's torso. "That's probably true; you're tense right now, too."

"Oh...that's probably why."

Yami handed Ryou back his shirt, which he hastily pulled on. "Um...thanks...for fixing me up."

"Don't count on it holding; see a specialist as soon as possible," he advised.

"I will. Thank you, Yami."

Yami smiled and helped him to his feet. "You're welcome, Ryou."

Ryou hesitated, before finally asking, "Where did you get experience with broken ribs?"

Yami suddenly froze. "...That friend I told you about. He broke a rib once."

"Were you very close to your friend?"

He nodded sadly. "I still am...somehow."

"You must miss him a lot."

Yami looked away, and if Ryou hadn't known better, he could have sworn he saw a tear try to form. "Yes...I miss him a lot."