Ryou yawned, pushing himself up from the couch and stretching his arms above his head. A very faint glow of light was coming from the window, indicating to him that it was still early enough in the morning that Yuugi would still be a zombie for a few hours. He swung his legs around, his feet hitting the floor without making a sound, and stood up. For whatever reason, Ryou found himself never able to sleep past five in the morning, but he was never able to fall asleep until around three. However, he always woke up feeling alert and refreshed after only two hours of sleep every night. Yuugi was as much of a morning person as he was a night owl, meaning that he was never awake to remark on Ryou's odd sleeping pattern. Ryou never told him, either. He was enough of a freak already in his caretaker's eyes.

Treading lightly into the little kitchenette, Ryou put a new filter in the coffeemaker and filled it with fresh grounds before turning it on. He hated drinking the stuff; it was way too bitter. Yuugi seemed to need it every morning as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. "To each their own," Ryou said to himself cheerfully, rummaging around in the little mini-fridge for his bottle of chocolate milk. Unlike coffee, chocolate milk was everything a person could want in a breakfast drink; it was sweet, cold, thick, syrupy, and it tasted like cocoa. He quickly poured himself a glass and went over to the window in the living room to look outside, careful not to wake Yuugi on the bed. The window had an impressive view of the city because Yuugi's apartment was very high up, and only a few cars could be seen driving on the street far below due to the early hour.

Ryou looked over at his sleeping housemate. He was eager for Yuugi to wake up so they could start the day. Today, neither of them had to go in to work at Smart Mart, so they were going to spend the day trying to discover anything that would jog Ryou's memory. The two years or so he had spent living with Yuugi had been very hard; the time it took to heal his wounds completely coupled with the time it took to be taught how to integrate himself into society had kept him very occupied, not to mention working at Yuugi's store. But, in the past few weeks, he had grown restless. He longed to learn of his past so badly that sometimes it was all he could do to keep from screaming and going insane. All Ryou needed was a clue or a hint as to what his life had been like or how he had ended up abandoned in the woods.

"I just need a sign. Some kind of clue. Anything. Please."

He looked up into the sky as he murmured his desperate plea, not entirely sure who he was asking for help.

Hours later, Ryou was waiting patiently by the door in his light blue rain slicker and matching galoshes while Yuugi finished buttoning up his own light purple coat. Shortly after Yuugi stumbled into the kitchen for his coffee, the sky had opened up and began to shower the city with a steady rain that had held up for a few hours already. As it wasn't showing any signs of letting up, the pair had decided to push on with their quest for Ryou's memory.

After riding in the building's elevator for a few minutes, they finally reached the ground floor and stepped out onto the wet sidewalk. Ryou and Yuugi both simultaneously put their hoods up over their heads and stared up at the gloomy, gray sky.

"Where are we going to try first?" Ryou asked, eager to get started.

Yuugi bit his lower lip in thought. "Hmm. Well, I was thinking we could try the Rec Center."

"Rec Center?" Ryou asked curiously, "Like, as in recreation?"

"Yeah, it's a community building where they put together groups for sports like tennis and stuff," Yuugi explained, leading Ryou down the sidewalk towards their destination, "There's also a gym and a cafeteria, I think. You can sign up for gymnastics classes or participate in a running group. I guess you could say it's a hub for community activities."

As Yuugi rambled on about the Rec Center, Ryou tried his hardest to hang onto the man's every word. His thoughts kept straying, however, and soon he became engrossed in his own thoughts. What kind of life did he lead before he had lost his memory? Was he a star athlete for a sports team? Maybe he had a rival who wanted him out of the picture. That would explain why he had been injured so badly. Of course, if someone had meant to get rid of him, he or she would have gone for a vital point instead of slashing up his back. Maybe someone really hated him, and that person had wanted him to suffer as he died. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Something wrong?" Yuugi asked, touching his shoulder in concern.

"Oh, no," Ryou replied with a smile, shaking off his thoughts, "I was just thinking."

"Well, we're almost there!" Yuugi said excitedly, "I can see it up ahead!"

The Rec Center was a big, domed building with tropical trees planted around it and a set of sliding glass doors right in the front. The pair jogged towards it as the rain picked up and began to pour harder than it had all day long. They stepped gratefully through the doors and pushed down their hoods. Shuffling his feet on the mat to dry off his boots a little, Ryou gazed around at the interior. People were milling around in the lobby with all sorts of sporting equipment. There were strong looking men carrying gym bags, fit ladies with water bottles, people wearing artist smocks toting paint sets and canvases, and many, many others. Ryou tried to imagine himself doing any of these activities, but he couldn't recall ever doing any kind of activity represented in the lobby.

"Come on," Yuugi said, motioning for him to follow. They walked up to the registration counter where a friendly looking woman sat with a telephone in one hand and a pen in the other. She was chattering hurriedly to someone and scribbling information down onto a piece of paper. Yuugi smiled at Ryou as they waited for her to be finished. Ryou returned his friend's look with a smile of his own. He truly was blessed to have a great friend like Yuugi who was so eager to be helpful.

"What can I do for you gentlemen today?" the woman asked once she had put her phone down.

"Could we please look through the list of activities?" Yuugi asked politely.

"Oh, of course you may," she replied, swiveling around in her chair and digging through a stack of binders. She selected the thickest one in the pile and handed it to him. "Feel free to have a seat over there," she said, pointing towards a group of sofas and chairs in a corner of the lobby.

"Thank you," Yuugi replied, taking the binder and leading Ryou over to where she had indicated. He gave the binder to Ryou. "Give me your coat so I can hang it up."

As Yuugi left to hang their jackets up, Ryou opened the binder and began pouring through the colored photos and descriptions of the activities, hopeful that he would find some kind of clue. He tugged at the hem of his black, long sleeved shirt as he read over a paragraph describing fencing. His eyes paused at the words "sword fighting". Other than a slight twinge of pain in his temple, the words did nothing for him. With a frown he turned the page. This paragraph was on gymnastics. The pain increased a little bit but not by much. Ryou frowned.

"Something wrong?" Yuugi asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Just a little headache," Ryou assured him, but suspicion laced his voice as he elaborated, "But it only started when I read the part about fencing. Just now, as I was reading this paragraph, it got worse."

Yuugi made a little noise in the back of his throat. "That's odd," he remarked, "Keep going. Maybe it'll happen again."

Yet, in spite of their best efforts, Ryou's headache subsided and he didn't react to any of the other activities. With a sigh, he flipped to the last page, which was on an activity called "Cross Country". As he read about the sport, a running competition over rough terrain, he felt another little twinge of pain. Other than that, they had exhausted the entire book fruitlessly.

Ryou slipped on his rain jacket as Yuugi returned the book, feeling defeated. Fencing, gymnastics, and Cross Country running. He wasn't familiar with the sports at all, and no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't remember whether or not he had participated in any of these activities in the past. His mind, as always, remained locked tightly.

Yuugi came back, and together they left the Rec Center. Their next destination was the Domino City train station. Ryou attempted to cheer himself up; they still had a whole day left to search for clues to his past.

"You said the activities, other than give you a headache, didn't remind you of anything," Yuugi asked suddenly as they walked.

"Nothing," Ryou confirmed, wondering what Yuugi was getting at.

"Well," he continued, "Maybe it isn't the sport so much as the concept that gave your memory a little kick start."

"We don't know that my headaches were because of that," Ryou pointed out.

Yuugi gave him a skeptical look. "When have you ever gotten a headache before?" he asked.

"Well," Ryou began, knowing Yuugi had a point, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," Yuugi declared. "Now, as to fencing. Ever been in a sword fight?" he teased.

Ryou concentrated very hard, picturing everything from swords to armor to people fighting. All of a sudden, the twinge was back, and he thought he could see a very magnificent sword in his mind's eye. It looked to be crafted out of silver, but even silver didn't shine as beautifully as this blade did. Who would wield a sword like that? His mind raced. He could almost literally feel the answer as a heavy weight upon his mind, waiting just beyond the edges of his memory for him to discover.

"Ah, Yuugi," Ryou began carefully, but he stopped abruptly and rushed to the window of a shop they were passing. What had caught his eye was a fetching white gown in the display case of a bridal shop. It was made of several layers of a gossamer fabric, and some gold threads had been sewn into the top layer to give it an ethereal glow. He pressed his fingertips to the glass, and a phrase suddenly popped into his head. "Like woven sunshine," he whispered in a disbelieving tone.

"I don't think it's that pretty," Yuugi remarked from behind him, casting a critical eye over the garment.

His trance was shattered. Ryou ripped his gaze away from the dress and gave Yuugi a despairing look. "I could almost feel it, Yuugi!" he wailed, causing several people passing them by on the sidewalk to stare, "It was so close!"

Yuugi shushed him, putting an arm around his shoulder and forcing him to keep walking. "What was so close? Calm down and tell me, Ryou."

Ryou attempted to halt his racing thoughts. For a few moments, he had held an unearthly beautiful picture in his head. Though, thinking back, it hadn't really been a picture. It was a color, the purest white he could ever imagine, and it glowed with a golden hue. He had never seen such a beautiful color in his entire life. Or, rather, maybe he had. "When you asked if I'd ever been in a sword fight, I pictured a rather impressive sword that seemed to glow with an odd power."

Yuugi gave him a funny look and opened his mouth to speak.

"Let me finish, please," Ryou cut him off, not wanting to be rude but needing to piece his thoughts together verbally. "I began to think of who would own a sword like that, but then that gown in the window caught my eye. The color of it," he paused, gathering his thoughts, "It made me think of a color similar to it, yet there's no way it was the same."

Yuugi stared at him for a moment, seemingly deep in his own thoughts. They continued walking, and Ryou could already see the top of the train station building. It was a massive clock tower that tolled the hour. He knew because he could always hear it faintly all the way back at the apartment. "I have no idea," Yuugi said after about a full minute of silence, "I really have no idea how a sword and that color could go together."

"Neither do I," Ryou admitted, suddenly upset with himself for not being able to remember something more helpful. If only Yuugi hadn't interrupted his thoughts, maybe he would have remembered more.

"Still," Yuugi continued cheerfully, "Progress is progress!"

Ryou smiled at his companion, mentally berating himself for thinking of him as a hindrance.

As they walked into the train station, Ryou was shocked at the sheer number of people that were packed into the depot. Of course, he had only been to the train station one other time, and that was just because Yuugi was explaining to him what trains were. That had been a while ago, and not as close to a holiday as it currently was. Everyone traveled home for the Christmas season to be with their family. Ryou felt a pang of deep sadness in his chest, but he ignored it. He wanted to have a family, too.

"So, I figure we should start with the map," Yuugi suggested, breaking Ryou out of his brooding thoughts.

"The map?" Ryou asked, realizing that Yuugi had been talking the entire time he had been lost in his thoughts.

Yuugi stared at him. "Yes, Ryou. The map. To see if you recognize any of the places on it. Duh."

"Oh, right. That map," Ryou replied, trying unsuccessfully to save face.

The pair stepped up to the information desk and waited for the attention of the man operating it. He, much like the Rec Center woman, was talking hurriedly on the phone and writing down information onto a piece of paper. They waited for a few minutes, but he didn't seem to notice them. Ryou was about to get fed up and leave, but Yuugi grabbed his attention by pointing to a brochure rack off to the side of the desk. The two walked over and began rifling through the leaflets and fliers.

"Aha!" Ryou declared, pulling out one that had a picture of Japan on it, "Map!"

"Good work, Ryou!" Yuugi told him happily, taking the map from Ryou's hands and unfolding it, "Let's see here now. Any names look familiar?"

"Well, here's where we live now," Ryou said musingly, pointing to a little dot that was labeled Domino.

"Helpful," Yuugi murmured sarcastically.

Ryou ignored his friend's comment and began to scour the page for any names that caught his eye. There was Tokyo, but that name was only familiar because that's where Yuugi had taken him shopping for new clothes shortly after his wounds had healed enough to allow him to walk comfortably. His eyebrows furrowed as he kept scanning the paper. He had to have lived somewhere. So, why wasn't anything looking right? "Is it possible that I'm not from Japan, Yuugi?" he asked.

Yuugi seemed to mull this over for a few seconds. "Well, you certainly don't look like a typical Asian person," he remarked, referring to his pale complexion and white hair, "But you speak perfect Japanese. Do you know any other languages?"

Ryou shook his head. "Not that I know of."

Yuugi pointed up towards a sign hanging from the ceiling. It read "Line 5" in four different languages. "That sign is also printed in English, Korean and Chinese. Can you read any of them?" he asked.

"Um." Ryou looked up at the sign, trying to make heads or tails of the writing. He knew what they all meant only because the message was printed on the top in Japanese. "No way."

Yuugi sighed. "I guess that answers that question. So, we're going to have to assume you grew up in Japan, but your parents are foreigners."

Ryou nodded, feeling dumb. "You're really smart, Yuugi."

"Hey, it's like a puzzle," Yuugi replied with a big smile, "You know how I am about puzzles. And your riddle, Ryou, has got to be the toughest one ever."

Much later, as the sun was just dipping below the horizon, Ryou and Yuugi trudged down the mostly empty sidewalks, feeling utterly defeated. Aside from the weird headaches, the sword, and that mysterious color, they hadn't had a single, strong lead all day. Ryou was nearly about ready to give up, but apparently those words weren't even in Yuugi's vocabulary.

"There must be something, Ryou," Yuugi insisted, a determined look on his face, "What haven't we tried?" At Ryou's silence, he continued, "Well, let's start with what we have tried. We did activities, places, languages, foods, clothes-,"

"No sign of that color anywhere," Ryou added at the mention of clothes. The dress in the window had been the closest they had come to that particular memory. They had even gone back to the shop, but Ryou hadn't gotten a headache and no new memories surfaced. "Once and done, apparently."

"Literature, pets, scenery, music," Yuugi continued as if he hadn't heard Ryou's complaint.

Ryou knew Yuugi well enough to know that the man was only rattling off his little list for his own benefit. He did his best thinking verbally, which could be a blessing as well as a curse. On one hand, you always knew what was running through his head. On the other hand, you always knew what was running through his head. The guy would never shut his mouth once he got rolling. So it was with a clear conscience that Ryou tuned him out and focused on his own thoughts.

He had expected to find at least one conclusive clue as to who he had been. All he had gotten was a sword and a color, and no matter how he worked it around in his head, he still came up with nothing. How on Earth could those two fit together? Did he wield that sword and wear that color? Was the sword itself that color? And he didn't even understand what kind of significance the sword could possibly have. No one fought with those anymore. They collected things like that, or wrote stories about them, or painted them. No one actually fought with swords anymore. Did they?

He hadn't been a writer; the "literature" part of Yuugi's list had proved to be very helpful in revealing that. And he hadn't been a musician, either. Ryou had dismissed the idea that he might have been a painter as soon as the thought had surfaced in his head. He didn't have an artistic bone in his body.

"Religion!" Yuugi yelled suddenly.

Ryou startled, whipping his head around to look at his friend. "What did you say?"

"Religion," Yuugi repeated happily, "We haven't tried that yet."

Ryou didn't want to get his hopes up, but something deep down inside of him told him that it was a good idea. "Why not?" he conceded. The idea felt right to him in a way he couldn't place.

"Good. There's a Christian church a few blocks over," Yuugi announced, picking up the place with renewed vigor. "I can't believe I didn't think of it until now. Of course, you don't strike me as a very religious person, and Japanese people aren't very religious to begin with. Though, now that I think about it, that would support the theory that you weren't born into a Japanese family."

Ryou smiled as Yuugi started thinking out loud again. Really, he couldn't help but laugh. Yuugi was treating this as if it were just another puzzle that needed to be solved, and with the right formula, the answer would appear readily for him. He might have been insulted if he wasn't so grateful. Yuugi really was a genius; why he wasted his time being the manager of a convenience store was anybody's guess.

"Since Christianity isn't a major religion in Japan, I don't really expect anything to happen. Maybe if we visited a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple, it'd spark your memory. Ah, but the church is the closest to where we are right now, so we'll head there first regardless."

"Hey, Yuugi," Ryou said, stopping Yuugi's thoughts in their tracks.

"Yeah?" he replied curiously.

"I thought we'd decided that my parents aren't from here, so why is it more likely that they're Buddhists?" he asked with a sly smile. Yuugi may have been a genius, but sometimes his thoughts overlapped without him noticing, causing him to forget things he may have just said.

"Oh!" Yuugi remarked to change the subject, "We're here!"

Ryou's retort died on his lips as he tilted his head up to gaze at the steeple on the church. It wasn't a very large or impressive building, but something about it called to him so that every nerve in his body reacted. His fingertips tingled and a steady pulse began in his head. "We have to go inside," he declared, not taking his eyes off of it for even a second.

"Not a problem. I think it's open right now," Yuugi said as he started forward to push the door open.

As soon as they walked inside, they were greeted by a man wearing black slacks, a black dress shirt, and a clergyman's white collar insert. "Good evening, gentlemen," he said, taking Yuugi's hand and shaking it. "What can I do for you?" The man moved to shake Ryou's hand, but he had already disappeared into the sanctuary.

"Please don't mind him," Yuugi said politely, "He's just looking for something. Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions, though?"

Ryou was grateful for Yuugi's distraction. He walked slowly down the aisle towards the altar, gazing around in awe at the meager yet beautiful decorations. The wooden pews all had red cushions on them that matched the blood red carpets, but the altar dressings were pure white. He sat down heavily in the first pew and held his head in his hands as the throbbing increased.

He saw white. Pure, shining white all around him that seemed to reach out into infinity. The sky above was the clearest shade of blue he had ever seen in his life. His mental vision focused and the white took on shapes. It was like being in a forest of clouds, almost. In the middle of it all stood a figure with snowy white hair. Him. He saw himself running around amongst the clouds, and by his body language, he looked anxious. Had he lost something? Ryou wanted to see his expression, but he wouldn't turn around. He just kept popping in and out of the puffy shapes, calling something. Was he lost, or had he lost someone?

The memory blurred and began to change. He was walking up an enormous flight of chiseled marble stairs towards a gleaming structure made out of the same material as the stairs. The sight filled him with a sense of reverence and a feeling of guilt, but he didn't know why. As he reached the top, he saw a giant of a man sitting on a magnificent throne. Ryou gasped, and the memory shifted again.

The sight before him took his breath away, but he forced himself not to react for fear that the vision would change again. There were hundreds, no thousands, of people that all bore a striking resemblance to him. Their clothes were all of the mysterious color from before, and they were flying over a sparkling utopia. Great white wings sprouted from their backs, slicing through the air with speed and accuracy as they swooped, dived, and glided through clouds and on air currents.

"Ryou!"

Ryou was flung out of his memories and all of a sudden he felt cold and unhappy, as if something beautiful had just been ripped away from him. His hands felt clammy against his skin, and when he removed them, his head felt very heavy. It was now pounding worse than ever before, and he was afraid he was going to throw up.

Yuugi knelt down in front of him and put his hands on either side of his face. "What's wrong, Ryou? I was calling to you for nearly ten minutes! I was so terrified something had happened to you!"

"W-what?" Ryou stammered. His tongue felt impossibly thick.

"You've been sitting like that for almost half an hour, Ryou," Yuugi told him in a questioning tone, "I got that pastor to leave us, but I was afraid I'd have to get him back here to help me snap you out of it. Were you in a trance?"

"I think," Ryou began, swallowing thickly, "I think I saw my memories."

A/N:

Le gasp! Chapter three has arrived in grand fashion! Since I've finished with my older project ("Sophomores, Freshmen,…"), that makes this story my main priority. How special! I really think you ladies and gents are going to enjoy the little ride I have planned for you all.

Thank you for reading this, and do leave me a review, won't you? It excites me~

Oh, and if anyone is interested in being my BETA READER, I'd be more than happy to try you out. I really need one, you see. Like, really.