The next morning came with Ryuzaki waking lazily up from a dreamless rest, indigo hues opening hesitantly. Golden sunlight filtered through the windows; it had to be at least 12, much too early for Ryuzaki to wake up on a Sunday…

Unhappy with his position, Ryuzaki flopped over onto his stomach, cuddling his arms around his pillow and emitting a content sigh. Yesterday seemed so far away in the brunette's groggy mind; what even had he done…?

Events from yesterday lazily filtered back into the half-awake's thoughts; thinking over it, ghosts didn't exist… he must've been dreaming…

Yes, yes, that sounded about right… Maybe his encounter with that ghost was nothing more than a dream…

"Your snoring is obnoxious to listen to."

Ryuzaki sat up immediately, blood pounding in his ears from the sudden movement. "S-shit, don't do that!" He cursed, eyes finding the ghost he had met last night. His lips tugged into a frown – so it wasn't just a dream.

The ghost was floating in mid-air; were he still alive, he would be lying on his stomach with the position he was floating in. Small hands balled up into fists held his head up as he peered down at Ryuzaki, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Your hair looks like a lion's mane, too."

"Tch, I don't remember askin' you." Ryuzaki muttered, slipping out of bed and stretching. "Y'know, for someone who just died you'd think you'd be a little more serious... you're pretty casual for someone who's only just met me last night."

"You don't pose a threat to me, seeing as how I'm already dead." The boy explained, adjusting his spectacles. "What, would you prefer me hostile over casual?"

"No, I mean I like casual, it's just… weird, comin' from a stranger."

"I suppose you make a valid point." He shrugged, floating over to face Ryuzaki again as he got ready.

"Of course I do." Realizing he still wore his jeans from last night, having never taken them off, Ryuzaki cast a glance the ghost's way. "Say, um… you don't have a name yet… a-anyways, you think maybe you could give me a moment to change?"

With a subtle nod, the ghost left, phasing through the wall that lead to the living room. Ryuzaki shook his head, noticing his room cleaned entirely. He dropped his hold on the shirt he had chosen for today, taking in his room.

"Ghoooooost…?" He called out.

"Yes?" His voice was distant; he was probably in the kitchen.

"Why's my room clean…?"

"I took the liberty of organizing everything while you slept." He explained, voice becoming less distant with every word. Wide eyes gazed at Ryuzaki as he poked his head through the door; quite literally at that, as it was closed. "You don't need to thank me."

Ryuzaki stooped low to grab at the shirt he had dropped, easing it over his head. "I wasn't going to."

"You'll appreciate the gesture soon enough," The ghost sighed, easing himself back into the room. He made his way to a small display case rest atop Ryuzaki's drawer, peering into it. After a moment he looked back to Ryuzaki. "You like Duel Monsters?"

"Yeah." The brunette nodded, grabbing a brush from his dresser. Brushing roughly through tangled locks, Ryuzaki met the ghost's gaze. "Why?"

"I…" Thick silence encased his train of thought. "I used to play it too… I-I'm remembering now…"

"You did?"

Teal hair bounced up and down as the ghost nodded. "Y-yeah, I was a duelist… I remember going to tournaments…"

"What sort of a deck did you have?"

He shook his head. "I can't remember. You like dragons?"

The ghost pointed to a card resting out for display – the Red Eyes Black Dragon. It was Ryuzaki's cherished card. The brunette chuckled. "Well, my deck's mostly dinosaurs, but I have a few dragon cards in there too. They called me the dino duelist."

"Called?" Curious blue hues peered back to Ryuu.

"Yeah, I don't really duel much anymore." He shrugged, finishing brushing through his hair. Finding his crimson cap, he placed it over his hair, moving his lavender bangs out of his line of vision. "I dunno, had a close call where I almost lost my Red Eyes. That card's special to me."

"I can't remember for the life of me what was in my deck…" The ghost sighed, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Not a card, not a strategy, nothing!"

"Well, if you were in tournaments, you must'a been good." Ryuzaki offered sympathetically. "An' you remembered you were a duelist… you didn't remember that before… maybe the more stuff you're exposed to, the more stuff you learn about yerself?"

"Maybe." The ghost nodded. "But I don't know what will trigger memories about myself… for instance, where I live, or what my name was…"

"I dunno what could make ya remember that." A small frown tugged at Ryuzaki's lips. "… Say, do you think they had, like, an article about you in the newspaper?"

"Why would they have something like that about me?"

"I dunno, maybe a missing persons' report or somethin'. It's a place t'start, right?"

The ghost nodded. "Yeah! Do you have a library in this town?"

"Domino City? Yeah, we better, for how big the city is. Do you wanna start there?"

The ghost nodded. "I remember enough to know I liked to read… it may be worthwhile. You'll need bus fare."

"Yeah yeah, it better not be expensive… an' we better find it, or you're gonna owe me however much it costs." Ryuzaki sighed, motioning for the ghost to follow him as he opened the door to his room and made his way out to the living room.

"Won't your mother wonder where you're going?" The ghost spoke up as Ryuzaki slipped on his shoes. "I mean, does she usually allow you to wonder around the city?"

"She's gone for most'a the day workin' an' all, so I don't think she minds." The brunette offered a casual shrug, throwing on an oversized green jacket. He made a dash for the keys, slipping them into a coat pocket. "I mean, she was the one who suggested I take'a hike to the forest, where I found you… she's never said anything 'gainst it b'fore."

"Interesting." The ghost chimed in, phasing through the door. "C'mon, let's go, we don't have all day!"

The two ended up booking a tram ride into the inner depths of the city, opting to stay in the back of the bus where not too many people were loitering about. Ryuzaki had his nose dug into a magazine, his companion floating an inch above the seat next to him, staring idly out the windows in an attempt to distract himself.

"Say, how come you don't phase out the back of the tram when it moves?" Ryuzaki piped up quietly after about twenty minutes of silence, turning his head to watch the semi-transparent ghost.

The teal-haired boy offered a shrug in response, not averting his gaze from the window. "I have somewhat a sense of gravitational pull that keeps me fixated to an object if I feel like it; for example, the seat I'm floating above. I choose to stay bound near it, so I move with it… does that make sense?"

"Not really." Ryuzaki muttered, going along with his words anyways. "Say, you still don't have a name yet, right?"

"How many times do I need to tell you I don't before you finally understand that? No, I don't have a name yet."

"Hmm… I wanna assign you one!"

The ghost sighed, muttering something along the lines of 'It's going to be stupid, isn't it' under his breath.

"How about… Glasses?"

The ghost's head whipped around to face Ryuzaki almost immediately. "Excuse me? Glasses?!"

"Yeah, 'cause you wear glasses!"

"If we're going off of the topic of 'things you notice at a first glance', I might as well call you 'homeless'; you look the part, anyways." He hissed sourly, arms crossing over his chest.

"Oh don't be sour, it's better than callin' you 'ghost' anyways…"

"At least 'ghost' doesn't sound completely idiotic."

"Neither does Glasses." Ryuzaki sighed, Yokohama accent spiking in indignation.

"We better find my name out soon…" His companion sighed, more to himself than to Ryuzaki. "Give me an hour of being called 'Glasses' and you won't have to worry about me following you for very long."

Aided with the company of a map of the city, the two hustled down city street after city street, making small side conversation as they did. Most of it consisted of 'No, you turn right here,' or other small pieces of advice from Ryuzaki's ghostly companion, who seemed to take great delight in getting to their library as soon as possible.

A butterfly sported its wings through the air, flapping gracefully around the teal-haired ghost. He cast a curious eye to the creature as it flew through his body, shuddering at the feeling of having a living creature flutter through him.

"I guess it's butterfly season, huh." Ryuzaki chimed in, watching the little creature dart through the air. "It's pretty, huh."

"I… suppose so." Slender shoulders shrugged as the ghost adjusted his glasses. "I have a strange feeling, one I can't describe… it's kinda pretty, I suppose, for a bug."

"With your beetle glasses you're sportin', I'm surprised you're not more inta bugs." Ryuzaki hummed thoughtfully. "Who knows, maybe it was your thing."

Another shrug from the ghost. "Maybe… it feels familiar… maybe I did like them when I was alive?"

"Say, Glasses." Ryuzaki mused after another moment of silence, turning his nose up to watch his companion. "Can other people see you?"

"Don't call me that." The boy hissed back. "No, I don't think they can." His voice took a light, sarcastic tone to it. "For whatever reason, I think that if they saw a boy walking around with a ghost, they wouldn't be so calm. But you know, it may just be me who'd react in a less-than-civilized manner to a paranormal entity."

"Oh hush, don't get snippy with me." Ryuu chuckled, brushing his hand through the side of his companion. He shuddered, retracting back as a wave of cold shot through his body.

"Let me see that map, you're gonna get lost." The ghost sighed, peering over Ryuzaki's shoulder. "We're closer than I thought we were… take a left at the corner, it should be at the end of the street from there."

Ryuzaki nodded, picking up his pace in walking, his ghost companion patiently following behind. He sped up, turning the corner and smiling when his eyes met the desired building. Domino City Library was printed on a sign out front; the building itself was relatively old in comparison to the surrounding buildings.

"Think I found it." He purred, beaming in satisfaction at the small smile that brimmed his ghosts' lips.

"Come on, we don't have time to waste."

The semi-transparent puff of ghost sped up, leaving Ryuzaki to hustle after him, calling 'Wait up! Glasses!' at almost constant intervals. His ghostly companion wasted no time, phasing through the main doors of the library without so much as a response.

Short legs bound up the steps, slamming the doors open louder than was probably necessary. Being a place for books and bookworms, the library was relatively empty today – perfect, a boy and a ghost didn't need much audience. It took a moment of searching for his pale friend, though he found him soon enough, phasing through a bookshelf to meet up with Ryuzaki.

"So where do we begin?" The brunette questioned softly, peering up to meet his gaze.

His companion shrugged in response. "Ask the librarian if she has any newspapers from neighboring cities. You were looking for a missing persons' report, correct?"

Ryuzaki nodded. "That's gonna be the quickest way to find out yer name, and where ya came from… c'mon, I'll go ask her."

Ryuzaki's companion followed him along as he walked towards the main desk in the back of the library, catching the attention of an elderly lady he assumed to be the librarian.

"May I help you?" She inquired, busying herself with stacking books on a display table.

"Do you have any newspapers from neighboring cities?" He asked, feeling a bit awkward in her presence with a ghost she couldn't see by his side.

She turned her head to peer at him; Ryuzaki was half-afraid she'd see the little semi-transparent being travelling with him and freak – though she smiled softly and nodded, straightening her posture. "Come to do a little research, huh? Yes, I have a pile of newspapers behind my desk… what city do you need, deary? Osaka? Hiroshima?"

"Ummm…" Ryuzaki turned to peer up at his companion, who gave a shrug in response. "A-all the ones you got, that come from cities on the main island, if ya don't mind."

"Follow me," The librarian motioned, showing him her desk. He followed patiently as she shuffled behind the counter, shoving a large stack of newspapers in Ryuzaki's general direction.

"Please don't take any for keeping," she mused. "I like to keep these for the stories and events. If there's anything you need let me know."

She opened a door behind the desk to go to a back-room, leaving Ryuzaki alone with the stack of newspapers. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, he turned his gaze over to his companion. "You ready t'start lookin'?"

"Yes." The ghost replied with a nod. "Cleaning your room last night, I learned I can manipulate and grab onto inanimate objects, so I can move the newspapers by myself…"

"That might be dangerous if anyone comes in…" The brunette muttered under his breath, turning his gaze to watch the library floors; to his relief, no one else was within distance. "… But in the meantime, yeah, that'll make quicker work'a things anyways…"

He separated the pile of newspaper into two separate stacks, shoving one across the desk in his companion's direction. "Start searchin'."

Time passed as the two searched through newspaper after newspaper, burning through cities as they checked over each issue – Osaka, Kyoto, Sendai – to no avail.

Losing hope in ever finding a missing person for his ghostly companion, Ryuzaki flipped an issue to a city he hadn't heard of before, though one he knew was eastern to Domino. He flipped to where he knew the missing persons' section would be, skimming down names and profiles until he paused, eyes freezing over the profile of a boy with a bowl-cut and glasses.

"Hey, Glasses… I think I found you."

"Really?" He felt the ghost shift impatiently, floating over to read his report. Both boys stared down at the sheet of paper in front of them, reading a report of what was unmistakably the ghost floating next to Ryuzaki.

Name: Insector, Haga

Last seen: April 9th

Age: 14

Birthday: July 21st

Description: Last seen on Wednesday, Haga stands at 5'3 and was seen leaving his hometown alone to an unidentified location.

"April 9th… that was on Wednesday."

There was more written, what with a contact number for his parents and all, though Ryuzaki didn't bother to read any further, opting instead to stare at the name and given picture of the boy.

"Insector Haga…" he repeated, watching his companion. "So your name was Haga, huh…?"

"Y-yeah… yeah, it was. I remember now… Haga…" He had a wistful look to his eyes, for the first time since Ryuzaki met him truly looking heartbroken as he repeated his name.

Ryuzaki turned his nose back down the paper, reading again. "… You were only 14 when you died…"

"… I was almost 15…"

Haga shivered then, arms crossing over his chest as he stared down at his picture. "C-c'mon, Ryuzaki, let's go…"

"… We can't leave the newspaper here." Ryuzaki frowned. "It has vital information on it – where you lived, how to contact your parents…"

"The librarian said not to take it, dumbass."

"Since when did I ever listen to rules?" Ryuzaki hissed, already hiding the newspaper under his arm and making an exit for the door. "Let's head out, b'fore she comes back."

Haga followed alongside Ryuzaki, neither speaking up until they were back on the tram home – it was getting late and Ryuzaki wanted to be back before his mother got off from work. Haga's glances back to his report didn't go unnoticed by the brunette – he failed to speak up, though, for fear of saying something that would make Haga upset.

Finally, half-way into their tram ride home, Haga finally spoke up.

"… I wonder if my parents know yet… that I'm gone…"

"Hm?" Ryuzaki mused, peering up to watch Haga. Realizing he had spoken aloud, the ghost shook his head, offering a small smile in Ryuzaki's direction.

"It's weird to think about being alive, with a family and any potential friends…" He shrugged. "Don't mind my chatter… for knowing my name now, and my age, I still don't know anything about my actual life… parents, friends, nothing."

"You learn stuff as you're exposed to it." Ryuzaki offered. "You'll know more about yerself the closer we get to takin' ya home, to the afterlife. Don't worry about it for now, okay?"

Haga nodded, giving a soft sort of chuckle. "You better not screw this up, or believe me, I'll never get off your back about it. The sooner you get me to the afterlife the better."

"You keep sayin' that," Ryuzaki purred. "Don't worry, I don't break promises… b'sides, I don' think I could deal with a naggin' ghost for my whole life. Too much responsibility for me to handle."

"Tch. I wouldn't be too much of a burden, don't flatter yourself."

"Are you kidding? You haven't left me alone since we met."

"Not like you've anything better to do in your spare time; your deck doesn't seem to be used all-too often."

Haga beamed cheerfully as Ryuzaki pouted. "S-shut up, people're givin' me weird looks for talkin' t'somethin' that ain't there in their eyes… wait 'til we get home, then we can talk."

"Excuses, excuses." The teal-haired boy only grinned.

"Okan, I'm home!" Ryuzaki chimed as he threw open the door. Met with silence, Ryuzaki turned to flip the light on, shrugging. "Guess she's not home yet."

"What time does she usually get home?" Haga asked, spinning mid-float as he made his way to the couch, floating above it.

"Depends on when her shift ends." The brunette replied, shutting the door behind him and throwing his cap off.

Haga's nose crinkled up at Ryuzaki's uncovered hair. "I don't know why you bothered brushing it this morning; it looks exactly like it did when you woke up. Like a rat's nest."

"Oh hush, ghost, I didn't ask you…" Ryuzaki huffed.

"Now that we know my name's Haga, I don't think 'ghost' is a very polite term; stick to my name." Haga scolded.

Ryuzaki opened his mouth to speak, cut off by the low growl of his stomach. A sheepish grin adorned tan features as he chuckled. "Welp, it's dinner time for me."

Haga followed Ryuzaki to the kitchen, peering curiously at him as he grabbed a microwavable burrito from the fridge. "Ahh, is that for dinner? Grab me a plate too, it's about time I ate something."

Indigo orbs met electric blue hues. "… You're a ghost… ghosts don't eat."

"… O-oh, right." A light flush spread over Haga's cheeks as he averted his gaze to the floor. "I'm still getting used to the whole 'being dead' thing…"

Ryuzaki popped the burrito in the microwave, resting with his arms against the counter. "That's okay, you'll get the hang of it."

"Tch, that's like telling a newborn he'll get used to walking if he tries it a couple times." Haga shot back, unable to keep a small snort from resounding in laughter. After a minute of silence, he frowned in contemplation. "You know… what do we do now? I mean, we got the newspaper that has information about me on it… where do we go from there?"

"I dunno." Ryuzaki shrugged, thinking the question over himself. He was lost at what to do. "I mean, trips that far outta town are expensive, and we'd have to wait a weekend t'make the trip… for now, I s'pose we can save up money t'make the trip, maybe in the mean time try to get some memories 'bout yer past life back in ya. That sound fair?"

"I'd like a quicker schedule, not just 'wait for a weekend when you're free.'" The semi-transparent sighed, though changed his approach when Ryuzaki shot a small glare his way. "… But I suppose it works out, what with you probably having school and all… it's good enough."

"Crap, I have school tomorrow!" Ryuzaki groaned – the microwave screamed in alert that his food was done. Taking the burrito out and ripping his teeth into it, he spoke again. "You gonna come with me? Or stay b'hind?"

"T-that's disgusting, don't talk with a full mouth!" Haga blanched, tongue sticking out in disgust. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to attend school with you – I can't think of anything I'd like to do while you're out… eh, why not."

"It'll be boring," Ryuzaki shrugged. "I prob'ly won't be able to talk t'ya fer most'a the day…"

"You're not exactly great company when you are talking to me," the ghost teased, chuckling to himself. "Oh, well, I can occupy myself while I'm there. If I disappear suddenly, just assume I'm at the library."

"So you were a bookworm," the brunette observed, scratching thoughtfully at his chin as he swallowed the last of his dinner. "Do you remember what you liked to read about?"

"Err… not exactly… it's kind of like, it's on the tip of my thoughts… but still buried down deep somewhere…" A small frown etched across the semi-transparent's features. "I'm sure it'll come to me with more prodding at my past… it's best not to concern myself with things I can't really do yet…"

"You'll know more about yourself soon enough," Ryuzaki assured, striding out of the kitchen. "Okan shouldn't be home for another few hours if they put her on a night shift…"

"What would you like to do with your remaining time?"

"I dunno what pastimes I could do with a ghost," The brunette chuckled. "It's late enough t'go t'bed… internet's not workin', so I can't use the computer…"

"Well, you have school tomorrow," Haga offered. "You might as well get to bed."

"You're not watching me while I change, though, stay out here until I tell ya it's safe fer you to come in."

Haga's eyes narrowed at Ryuzaki's pointed glance. "T-tch! Don't flatter yourself. Like I'd have any interest in watching you change."

"Then you'll have no problem waiting until I'm done." The brunette purred, happy grin adorning tanned features. "I'll only be a moment."

When Ryuzaki had finished changing, Haga poked his head in, inviting himself into the other's recently clean room. "Why you wanna stay in here, I have no idea," the brunette had muttered as he flicked the light off, climbing into bed.

Haga floated at the foot of Ryuzaki's bed, resting his semi-transparent body against a base that came up past the sheets. "Nice night-light," He snickered, nodding towards a dim light that watched over a snake's tank.

"Hiss needs light all hours of the day," Ryuzaki rolled his eyes, referring to his corn-snake. "It ain't a night-light."

"You named your snake Hiss?"

"What? It's a bad-ass name."

"A seven-year-old could come up with a better name than that."

"I was seven when I named her, smartass."

"… Corn-snakes only live to be about ten, right? Your snake's pretty old."

"Yeah, I suppose… about eight or nine, by now." Ryuzaki shrugged, sure the gesture was unseen in the darkness. "Babe's gettin' pretty old… do you remember having any pets?"

Haga shook his head. "No."

"… You know, in this light I can hardly see you."

"I suppose that's what I get for being a ghost, huh."

Both boys chuckled, companionable silence taking over until a thought came to Ryuzaki.

"… Why are you so friendly to me?"

"Hmm?" Haga shrugged, eyes closing contently as he rested his head back. "I remember enough to know I was a little shit to people I didn't like, but you… you're different. I mean, you're my only ticket to freedom, so I suppose that to some extent I kind of have to be pleasant around you…"

"Yeah, but we only just met… I mean, pleasant or not…"

"I understand what you mean. Tch, I-I dunno, why do you ask?"

It was Ryuzaki's turn to shrug. "Growin' up, I guess I didn't really have many friends…? That includes now, haha, there's no one I really hang out with on'a regular basis… it's weird to have someone t'talk to."

"… I don't remember if I had friends or not, but… given the lack of memory of any… I don't think I had friends either."

"You think so?"

"I don't know. It's hard to tell what's from memory, and what I just lacked when alive." A wistful sigh came from the semi-transparent boy, lips tugging into a small frown. "Some things for the life of me, I just can't seem to remember – friends may be one of those things, I suppose we'll find out when we get to my home town… how are you going to make the money up to get there?"

"Hell if I know." The brunette admitted, speaking a fear he had secretly had since they found the missing persons' report for Haga. "I don't even know how much it's gonna be to get there… I don't even know where your town is, let alone how t'get there… we'll cross that bridge when we get there though."

More silence overlapped the talking; after a few minutes of nothing, Haga had up-and-assumed Ryuzaki had fallen asleep.

"… Hey, Haga?"

"Hm?" Haga's head snapped from peering out of Ryuzaki's window. "Yeah?"

Ryuzaki sat up, chin resting in the cupped hand of a propped up arm. "What do you think's holdin' you back from goin' to the afterlife?"

"I have no idea." Haga muttered, closing his eyes again. "I'm pretty sure we can rule out 'vengeance', seeing as how I apparently had no friends… what we need is someone who knows more about ghosts than we do. Even as a ghost I know nothing about what ghosts do… hell, I didn't know they existed until I became one."

"That makes two of us." Ryuzaki chuckled. "So like, find a psychic?"

"I don't know where we'd find a legitimate psychic… most ones you find are fakers with dumb crystal balls and whatnot…"

"… I think there's a psychic at our school, now that I think 'bout it…"

"You're joking."

"No, no, I'm pretty certain…" Ryuzaki shook his head, brows knitting together in concentration. "He's like, a year above me I think… Espa, or somethin' like that… he always boasted about being psychic; that's how he won duels 'gainst other kids."

"Tch, he already sounds fake." Haga rolled his eyes behind his spectacles.

"If he's for real, then he might be our ticket t'getting' you free…"

"It's worth a shot, I suppose, as good as any other." Slender shoulders shrugged under a gray cardigan. "You can try to find him tomorrow… in the meanwhile, really, I'd suggest getting rest."

"You gonna stay here all night?"

"Ghosts don't really sleep, and listening to you snore isn't the most appealing thing in the world… I'm certain I'll find something more entertaining; like watching the moon."

"Haha! Rude."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Haga's mouth. "Get some rest, Ryuzaki."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryuzaki gave a light roll of his eyes, turning onto his side as he adjusted his position. "G'night, Haga."

"Goodnight, Ryuzaki."