"Beware, lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow" -Aesop

Ryou was in his apartment. There was the fireplace, the sink, the picture of Amane on the mantle. Yes. This was his apartment. Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. He always hated waking up inside someone else's apartment. It meant something bad had happened. But everything was okay. He was alone, and the Ring was cool on his chest. The Spirit, gone. Probably hibernating after whatever scheme he had just pulled.

Suddenly, Ryou felt a prickle on the back of his neck, like he was being watched. But not in the bad way, like the Spirit did, it was more… gentle. Lovingly. Kinda like his mother had done, back when she was living with him. Ryou looked around. No, his mother had not come for a visit. She would have called first. She's very good at calling first. There was nothing there, so Ryou looked around for his backpack. It was by the shoe cubby, right where it always left it. (Ryou refused to call the Spirit a he. It seemed wrong, somehow)

Ryou heaved the bag over his shoulder and was heading towards his room when he heard the voice calling him. "…brother…" Ryou paled and nearly dropped his backpack. Was that..

"Hello, brother." Amane floated before him, ethereal and beautiful, wrapped in a simple white dress, her light, wavy hair fell past her shoulders and down to her waist. She was much older and much more beautiful than she had been when… when the car hit her. "Hello, brother." Amane repeated. She touched down on the ground and smiled, before becoming serious. "You must destroy every memory you have of me." She said gravely.

Ryou shook his head in disbelief. He knew that the dead could come back to life, but to have Amane in his arms, it felt unreal. It took him a second to process what she had told him. "Wait, what? Why?"

Amane sighed. " You must destroy everything: pictures, drawings, belongings, all the letters you wrote to me. Everything."

"But… but why? I mean, can't I just keep something? Why do I have to give you up?"

Amane placed a hand on his shoulder. He instantly calmed down. "You are not going to give me up. Once all your old memories are gone, I will be able to come back. Alive."

Ears roaring with shock, Ryou took a step back. "You mean, like, really come back. For good?"

She smiled. "Yeah, big bro. I will be able to come back for good. I promise I'll be more careful around cars this time around." She laughed. It was so nostalgic. It sounded exactly like her. Without thinking, Ryou built up a fire in the fireplace. He raced to his room and pulled out his memorabilia box: everything physical of Amane's he still owned resided in that box. He hurried back and tossed the box's contents into the fire. He stepped back to watch it burn, and his eye caught on the picture of Amane in the mantle place. Did he have to…?

"And the photo, big bro."

"But- That's not… it's…" Ryou trailed off as he looked into her sad eyes.

"Please, I want to come back. Just put the photo in the fire, and let it burn."

Ryou obeyed. Five minutes later, there was nothing of Amane's existence but a pile of ash. He turned to her. She was smiling, but there was something off about it. It looked familiar, but it wasn't her smile. It was- No….

Amane's form shifted until it took on his own. The Spirit of the Millennium Ring floated a few inches off the ground, maniacal grin on his face. "Why, Host! What did you just do?" He said in an overly exaggerated tone. "I think you just destroyed every memory of your sister you ever had! Now, why would you do that.

Ryou screamed. He hurled magazines, books, shoes, even a chair at the Spirit, but he wasn't corporeal, so Ryou's blows went right through him. "Bastard! Give her back!"

The Spirit of the Millennium Ring laughed. "It's your own damn fault. Did you really believe she would just come back like that after all these years? Well, then you were asking for it."

Dropping to his knees, Ryou started sobbing and didn't stop until he had fallen asleep, curled in a ball on the floor.