A/N Major enormous thanks to Fiver who beta'd this chapter amazingly fast. Dedicated to The One Called Dementra. Five years post canon.


The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let in come in. ~ Morrie Schwartz


The world burned.

With fire, with hatred, it burned.

The whole world (his whole world, the only world he'd ever known - made out of dirt and clay…) and those in it.

He watched. The fire consumed.

Ryou woke up crying, for the first time in five years.

-0-

Needless to say, his nightmare made his mood plummet. Though only a vague imprint was left on him (fire…and screaming), the result he still remembered. Tears. Weakness.

Ryou scowled, and slammed the door hard behind him. He had a long day of work ahead of him, and he refused to let something as insignificant as one his nightmares distract him.

-0-

"The new pieces from America have just arrived. Cataloging has them at the moment, but I'm sure they'll be ready for display by tomorrow," said Hana, shoving more paperwork into Ryou's hands.

They turned the corner, heading for Ryou's office.

"And what about the sculptures from Tokyo?" he asked, skimming through the papers.

Hana shrugged, "I haven't heard anything about them. I'm assuming that the shipping was delayed."

Ryou sighed and dug his keys out of his pocket.

"Anything else you need to tell me?" he asked.

She blinked and then her whole face lit up.

"Oh! There's someone here to see you. Says he's a friend of yours."

Ryou's eyebrows furrowed. Friend? He didn't have any friends…

He pushed his office door open (it was already unlocked). And there, in the middle of his office, was a boy with multi-colored hair and bags under his eyes.

"Bakura-kun."

Ryou gasped slightly, but then regained his composure.

"Hana," he said, "Could you give us some time alone? Please?"

She nodded and walked away. Ryou locked the door behind him.

The boy with violet eyes smiled painfully.

(That made Ryou's glare even steelier.)

"Yuugi," he said, "What are you doi-?"

A shadow emerged from behind him.

"Bakura," said a voice, regal and strong.

Ryou took a step back, every hair on his body standing straight up.

"Pharaoh."

Yuugi rubbed his arm awkwardly.

"I know that you…I remember what you said and stuff…it's just that…well, we kind of need to talk to you."

(Ryou had to grab hold of his desk just to keep from fainting.)

-0-

He told Hana he was taking the rest of the day off. Because, apparently, the dead were walking the earth. Ryou was entitled to a day off.

Yuugi, the Pharaoh and Ryou took the booth furthest away from the door in the diner.

Ryou, as calmly as he could fake, asked, "Have you called the Ishtars?"

Yuugi nodded.

"Ishizu booked a flight – she said they'd get here around midnight. Her and Malik."

(Both Ryou and the Pharaoh blanched at 'Malik'.)

Ryou shook his head.

"I don't understand..." he trailed off, "How?"

Yuugi (as always) looked towards the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh looked down.

"I don't know," he paused and took a breath, "I can't remember anything. All I remember is the duel and then…then waking up in the middle of a park. Like no time had passed."

Ryou exhaled deeply.

(He had to clench his hands in order to keep them from shaking.)

"It was just you, right? Just you?"

Understanding flashed through the Pharaoh's eyes. (Yuugi's too, though it was more subtle. He'd known all along.)

"I'm not sure."

"That's not an answer!" Ryou yelled.

"Bakura-kun!" Yuugi whimpered and reached out for him.

"You would know! There's no way you wouldn't know! You would be able to feel in your bones, your soul, every inch of you would burn-"

Ryou stopped himself. (His soul sizzled.)

"He's back."

(Ryou's voice was emotionless. There was no emotion left to give.)

The Pharaoh's eyes hardened.

"If he is, then that's the reason I'm back. I've defeated him before and I'll do it again! I won't let him hurt anyone, especially you, Bakura-"

"I don't need your protection," Ryou snapped.

(Yuugi cringed.)

"Order forty-two! Number forty-two!" called the cashier.

"That's us," Yuugi said weakly.

No one said a thing.

"I'll get it," Yuugi said and squirmed past the Pharaoh.

When he was finally out of earshot, the Pharaoh looked straight through Ryou.

"You've changed," he accused.

Ryou looked away. (Glared.)

"I didn't have a choice." (You left.) "It's been five years, Atemu. What did you expect? That everything would stay the same? Everything would be perfect?"

The Pharaoh recoiled, hurt.

"Or that maybe…you coming back would just fix everything? Like it always has?"

A bitter flavor stung Ryou's mouth. (The words he spat tasted like poison.) His shoulders slumped, and he chuckled darkly, sadly.

"You've noticed, haven't you? Yuugi's changed too."

The Pharaoh's mouth widened, and then his eyes narrowed. Ryou met his harsh gaze.

"And you can't fix him, either."

-0-

Ryou walked back to his apartment from the diner. He had refused the ride Yuugi had offered him.

(He was also being watched.)

-0-

The moment he locked and bolted the door behind him, Ryou collapsed.

And for the second time that day, he cried.

-0-

No amount of curses, in any of the languages Malik knew, would be enough to summarize (much less define) the pure hatred he felt for the place they were going.

That city. Domino.

"You should have brought Rishid," Malik grumbled.

Ishizu sighed.

"We've been through this, Malik," she said, "Someone had to stay behind to take care of our home."

"I could have stayed."

Ishizu gave him the look. The big sister, 'Oh, really, Malik?' look.

Malik slouched further into his seat.

"Well, you could have come by yourself," he sneered.

Ishizu frowned, blue eyes betraying some of her hurt.

This time, Malik sighed.

"It's just not fair! I thought that our job was over! I thought we could finally move on!"

Ishizu pulled him close.

"I know," she whispered, "I thought so too."

-0-

Ryou didn't know why he agreed to meet the Ishtars at Yuugi's game shop. (Or why he was accepting Yuugi's calls again…)

Maybe some part of him hoped that they'd be able to explain everything (like they always did) and that they could tell him that he wasn't back…

That cold, irrational fear swept over him again and Ryou went into the shop without knocking.

-0-

He looked different. Older, meaner. Not that Malik had ever really known Bakura that well, or at least not this Bakura, but he could just tell he'd changed.

"So you don't know anything?" Yuugi asked, the desperation evident in his voice, "No reason at all?"

Ishizu shook her head.

"Nothing foretold of this event. Of course, we'll look through everything again but…" she trailed off.

"But there's really nothing you can do," the Pharaoh finished for her, "Thank you anyway, Ishizu, for coming on such short notice."

Malik snorted. Short notice. They'd dropped everything in their entire lives to fly across the globe to a city filled to the brim with bad memories. One little 'thank you' hardly made up for it.

"I suppose," the not-Bakura said. What was his name again? Ryou? "You're saying we should just live with it? That it's permanent?"

Yuugi's eyes lit up.

Ishizu nodded.

"I don't see anything that could reverse the effects."

"Great!" Malik exclaimed, "So that means everything's fine and we can go home?"

"Not everything," the Pharaoh said gravely. Always a buzz-kill.

"Bakura's back."

Ishizu gasped.

"You've seen him?" she asked. The Pharaoh shook his head.

"I've felt him," Ryou interjected, "I know he's here."

Malik eyed the boy up and down. So he hadn't changed that much after all.

"But you haven't seen him? Like actually seen him?" Malik asked.

Ryou glared.

"No."

"And I'm assuming that if you haven't seen him, then he hasn't done anything to you? So what's the problem?" Malik said bluntly.

"Existing. The fact that he exists is the problem," Ryou snarled. Hate burned deep in his eyes.

Malik's gut wrenched. That hate seemed so familiar. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Ishizu broke the silence.

"Pharaoh, I think it would be best if we stayed here with you, for a while. To see how things unfold."

The Pharaoh nodded, and Yuugi smiled slightly.

Malik never took his eyes off Ryou.

-0-

Ryou exited the shop as quickly as it became apparent to him that the Ishtars knew no more than they did.

"Hey!" said an arrogant, harsh voice. Malik.

(Ryou cringed. Nothing brought back bad memories like Malik.)

"What?" Ryou asked, turning around.

"You should get a drink with me."

Ryou withdrew. "What?"

Malik stepped in front of Ryou.

"I saw a place up the street."

-0-

"So, Ryou-"

"Call me Bakura."

"No."

"…Why not?"

"His name's Bakura."

"No, it isn't. He didn't…doesn't…didn't have a name. Bakura's always been my name."

"Well, you two are like the same person, so it doesn't really matter."

"We are not the same person!"

"Heh. Yeah, sure. Look, I'm not here to further complicate your obvious identity issues, Ryou. I call you Ryou because that way I can tell the difference between you two and I like calling you that. So there."

"Fine, Malik-kun."

-0-

The thief sat on the rooftop, watching. His host had changed, or at least, pretended to have.

After all, how much could he have really changed if he still always looked over his shoulder?

-0-

"Take this!" Ryou said, shoving a golden necklace into Malik's hands, "You like gold, right?"

Malik held it up to the light, "Ra! It's real! Where did you get it?"

Ryou looked away, eye twitching a bit.

"He left this for you, didn't he?" Malik laughed.

"It's not funny," Ryou sneered.

"No. It's hilarious."

Ryou sighed, "Just take it, okay? I don't want it anywhere near me."

-0-

Hana informed him, for the second time in two weeks, that he had a visitor.

Yuugi.

"What are you doing here?" Ryou asked, more exasperated than ever.

"I came here to see you," he said.

"Why?" Ryou hissed. (Hadn't they already been through this? Hadn't Ryou said enough to hurt Yuugi before?)

"You're my friend, Bakura. I don't care if you don't feel the same. I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you. And I know you. You bury yourself in your work and pretend that everything is normal, but Bakura…you can't hide from this forever. You have to talk to him."

Ryou crossed his arms. The day he willingly accepted that darkness back into his life was the day he…

"Get out of my office."

-0-

Malik took a sip of whatever alcoholic drink he'd chosen that night. Ryou took a sip of his tea.

"I heard Anzu flew in from New York. And Jounouchi and Honda drove in from out of town. It's like a family reunion," Malik said bitterly, "Why aren't you there?"

"Why would I be?" Ryou snapped.

"Weren't you friends?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Ryou paused, "Probably."

Malik arched a brow, "Well, then what happened?"

"I said some things."

"We all say stuff, Ryou," Malik snorted.

"But I meant it."

-0-

"You," Malik said, icily.

It was Bakura, even if his looks had changed. Tan skin and a cool-looking scar below his eye couldn't change that smirk and cocky attitude.

Malik put a hand on his hip.

"So you really are back. And here I thought you were just a myth."

Bakura sneered.

"Of course I'm here. The Pharaoh and I are bound by fate."

Malik blinked. That was weird. It kinda sounded like he was quoting somebody.

"And you've decided to use your new body to stalk Ryou from alleyways."

"I'm not stalking him," snarled Bakura, "I'm watching him. He's mine. I can watch him if I want."

Malik snorted. So denial was something the light and dark halves both had in common.

Bakura glared at him and shoved his hands into the pocket of his red sweater.

"Besides," he said, "You can't talk, Malik. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Malik flustered and then glared back.

"I was just going to wait here until Ryou got out of work. Then see if he wanted to do something."

"Heh. Landlord doesn't even like you that much. He just tolerates you because he's desperate."

"Well, at least I actually talk to him!" Malik said, suddenly enraged, "You just creep around in the shadows. He's afraid of you!"

Bakura's grey eyes flashed dangerously.

"At least he doesn't pity me the way he pities you. He sees the way everyone else looks at you and feels sorry for you because everyone hates you. You don't even know him either. You're just desperate. Because you know that they don't trust you, you hear them whispering about you at-"

"Shut up!" Malik shouted and ran head-on into Bakura's chest, pushing him to the ground.

Bakura, momentarily stunned, did not resist when Malik punched him in the stomach.

But when Malik raised his fist to do it again, Bakura grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the brick wall.

"You little brat," he sneered, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Malik, dizzy but still conscious, stood up.

"You can say whatever you want about me. It doesn't change the fact that Ryou still hates you."

Bakura growled and charged at him, pushing him back into the wall. He wrapped his fingers around Malik's throat and lifted him off the ground.

"You always annoyed me."

Malik, tearing at Bakura's fingers, kicked him in the face. Bakura dropped him and stumbled backwards. Malik gasped for breath. They met each other's glare and both ran at each other.

Bakura punched Malik in the face.

He stood up, fell back down, and then everything went black.

-0-

"Malik! What happened to your face?" Ryou cried out.

The boy in question glared.

"It's a long story."

-0-

There was another present on his door-step.

Ryou ignored it, but it made him feel light-headed all the same.

(Could he really keep living like this? Ignoring everything?)

-0-

"You're here again?" Malik said, disbelievingly.

Bakura, arms crossed, eyed him coldly.

"Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I'm not here to fight you," Malik said, "It was just a question."

Bakura looked Malik up and down, and then returned his gaze to the Domino Museum.

"It's not like I have anything better to do."

Malik leaned up against the wall.

"Me neither."

-0-

"I talked to Yuugi yesterday," said Malik.

"Oh?" Ryou asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Yeah. He said he's glad we're talking but…"

"But what?"

"But he misses you."

Ryou looked to the ground, ashamed. (All the things he'd done burned like embers from a fading fire.)

"Why do you hate him so much anyway, Ryou?" Malik asked, sincerely.

"I don't hate him," Ryou admitted.

"Then why are you such a prick to him?"

Ryou leaned in to himself.

"I don't deserve him, Malik. I've never deserved him."

-0-

Ryou picked up the bracelet, silver and gold and bejewelled with rubies. He tossed it over the stairs of his apartment.

"I know you're there!" he shouted to the shadows "I know you're watching me! Just leave me alone! I don't want these stupid…trinkets. I don't want anything to do with you! I don't care what Yuugi says or that you have a body. You're nothing but hate and darkness. Your scars are still here with me! Your hate and your darkness, it's still in me. It ruined me forever! I still feel it… everyday…just leave me alone."

"Please," he whispered.

(There was no response.)

Ryou rushed inside his apartment before the neighbors could see.

-0-

Ryou, taking a deep breath for courage, knocked on the door.

The Pharaoh opened it and glared.

"Bakura," he said coldly.

Ryou tried his best to stay friendly. (After all, he kind of deserved that.)

"Can I speak to Yuugi?"

"No."

Okay, so he deserved that too.

Ryou opened his mouth to plead his case, but he didn't have to.

"Atemu, who's at the door?" Yuugi asked, gently pushing the Pharaoh to the side.

"Bakura-kun."

The light disappeared from Yuugi's eyes.

"Hi," Ryou said bashfully, "Can we talk?"

Yuugi blinked.

"Yeah. Yeah! Of course!"

"Wait! Yuugi!" The Pharaoh said, but Yuugi was already out the door.

"What is it, Bakura?"

Ryou took another breath. Could he do this? Apologize, after he'd worked so hard to make Yuugi believe that he hated him…

(Did he even deserve to be able to apologize, after everything? Did someone as broken as him deserve a second chance?)

Yuugi looked at him with wide-open eyes.

(They were so forgiving. They burned right through him.)

Ryou had to turn away.

"Would it be too late to say I'm sorry?" he said, slowly, softly, "About all those things I said to you that day…is it too late for me to tell you I never meant any of them?"

(I could never hate you, Yuugi-kun.)

There was a small, peaceful, relieving silence.

Then, Yuugi wrapped his arms around him.

"Never."

-0-

"I don't get you," Malik said.

Bakura turned away, bored.

"I don't care."

Malik continued unfazed, "Why don't you just talk to him? Prove to him you've changed."

"What if I haven't changed?"

Malik cocked his brow, "You've changed."

"Even if I have, which I haven't, do you think he'd believe me? You said it yourself, he hates me."

Malik wanted to say something, but there was nothing more to say.

-0-

"Hey, Ryou!" Malik called, as Ryou exited the museum.

"Don't talk to me," Ryou growled darkly from between clenched teeth.

Malik took a step back. Ryou's eyes were on fire.

"What's your problem?" he sneered.

"My problem?" Ryou laughed, "The same thing that is always my problem - him! Do you think I'm an idiot? Is that it? Was I just some game to you two - this whole time?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I saw you!" Ryou yelled, "I saw you with him!"

Malik cringed, "Ryou, he's not what you think."

Ryou ignored him.

"You've been partners with him this whole time, haven't you? Haven't you?!" he shouted, losing more and more of his calm mask.

"Ryou, calm down. You act like he's evil incarnate. Since he's gotten here he hasn't done anything wrong," Malik said, taking a step towards Ryou.

"Shut up! He's done everything wrong. You don't know anything! You pretend to be this great analyzer and friend but deep down you can't even deal with your own issues! So don't you dare tell me who I should or shouldn't forgive! Just leave. Me. Alone."

Ryou ran away from him.

-0-

"Well. You really did a great job on that one. I don't even think I could have done as badly as you did."

"Shut up."

-0-

"So you really haven't talked him? Not once? Even though it's been almost a year?"

Ryou shook his head.

"Why would I ever talk to him, Yuugi? He's done no good to me."

Yuugi poked the diner's table with his fork.

"Meeting Atemu was the best thing that ever happened to me," Yuugi said, more to himself than anyone, "When I defeated him in the duel, it was horrible, because it meant I lost him. But at the same time, I thought it meant that I was stronger now. That I didn't need him anymore."

Yuugi paused, and Ryou was so transfixed by the story that he dared not speak a word.

"I was wrong. I survived and everything, but I still need him. I think I'll always need him. It's terrible…but true. And when he came back, I felt like a failure because I was so happy. Needing him, it made me feel worthless."

A small smile spread across Yuugi's face. (Along with tears.)

"But I don't care anymore. He's here and he's not leaving and even if it's co-dependent, he makes me happy. He makes my life happy."

Yuugi wiped away his tears.

"Sorry," he said, blushing.

"Don't be," Ryou asserted, and reached for Yuugi's hand.

The boy smiled again.

"All I'm saying Bakura-kun, is that even though he hurt you, maybe you need him too?"

-0-

"What the hell are you doing?" Bakura asked, though it sounded more like a threat. Then again, everything Bakura said sounded like a threat.

Malik ignored him and kept his focus on the white haired boy down on the street.

"Stalking Ryou. Can't you tell? I thought that was like your specialty or something."

Bakura sneered.

"I don't stalk him I just-"

"Stalk him."

"You're such a brat," Bakura growled.

"And you're a bastard. So we're perfect for each other."

Bakura glared daggers, but sat down next to Malik anyway. There was silence as they watched Ryou.

"You know," Bakura said after a time, "Landlord's soft. You could just apologize."

Malik sighed.

"I know."

-0-

Ryou walked into the Kame Game Shop, uncertain. Yuugi had sounded so anxious on the phone.

(And Yuugi, in the face of anything, was always filled with hope.)

"So the other night when we were having dinner, it just hit me!" Yuugi said, as he closed the door behind them, "Do you remember what happened during the Pharaoh's memories?"

"No," Ryou said, automatically, "Why would I remember? I wasn't even there."

Both Yuugi and the Pharaoh cringed.

"So you don't know," the Pharaoh said, "Why your other hates me so much?"

Ryou blinked, "There's a reason?"

Yuugi nodded, "You see, Bakura-kun-"

The Pharaoh touched Yuugi's forearm, stopping him.

"I want to tell him. It's my family's shame. I should tell him."

Ryou curled up slightly.

"Tell me what?"

They told him of the creation of the Millennium Items.

(And all the people it burned.)

-0-

Yuugi was right, all along. He couldn't ignore this forever.

(Hate, really. But hate and ignorance seemed to have become interchangeable by this point.)

Kul Elna. His other, the thief's village. (Was that the place that burned so brightly in his nightmares? Were they really memories?)

Ryou inhaled.

Time to find out.

He opened his balcony door and took a step outside.

"I know you're there," Ryou called out, staring into the night sky that was illuminated by decaying buildings, "Come out."

There was no response. (But only for a moment.)

Seemingly coming from the darkness itself, a figure leapt onto Ryou's balcony. He took a step closer, reeking of confidence. His tan skin shimmered like gold in the moonlight.

Ryou's heart sped up. He'd never actually seen the thief up close.

His dirty grey-white hair was cropped short, and he had a scar just like Yuugi had said he did. He wasn't wearing that blood-red cloak Yuugi had described though. The thief wore a red sweater and jeans. He looked oddly normal for a being over three thousand years old.

Ryou exhaled. (Told himself he wasn't afraid.)

"I want to talk to you."

"Oh?" the thief asked, cocking his brow, "But you've done so well at ignoring me this last year."

(He sounded surprisingly bitter and hurt.)

Ryou frowned, "Don't act like you didn't deserve it. You put my friends in comas, and when you didn't do that, you actively tried to kill them."

The thief scoffed. "They aren't your friends."

"They are."

(Ryou is certain.)

"Well, you don't even remember it, so how can you act so entitled?" the thief snarled.

Ryou cringed. It was true. All of his memories of the ring were fragmented at best. And at worst…(it was as if he was surrounded by fog at all sides)…

"You're so callous," Ryou retorted.

"You're so naïve!"

Ryou sighed. But he was strangely relieved. This person (a real, live human being) wasn't like the spirit. He wasn't as cold. Childish, argumentative, but not cold.

They stood for some time in the darkness together, pouting.

"You said you wanted to talk to me," the thief reminded him, scowling.

"I did. But not when you're being a jerk," Ryou said, crossing his arms.

The thief glared.

"If I promise not to be a jerk, will you talk to me?"

Ryou leaned in closer, "Yeah. Promise."

"I promise."

(Ryou's heart fluttered.)

"What are you doing here?"

The thief snorted. "I don't know. I just woke up and I was here. The last thing I remember…"

He frowned, and pressed his lips together.

"I don't really remember what I was doing before I woke up…"

Ryou's eyes widened, "Do you remember anything?"

"Of course I remember things!" he snarled, "I'm not an idiot. I remember that brat Malik and his stupid plans. I remember the Pharaoh and his container defeating me."

A pause.

"I remember you. It's just sometimes…" the thief's voice regained its harsh edge, its anger, "The memories are fuzzy. Like…like…"

Ryou's heart pounded in his chest. He thought it would burst any second.

"Like looking through foggy glass, or trying to see through thick fog!" Ryou shouted.

The thief blinked, startled by Ryou's odd behavior.

"Yeah. Exactly like that," the thief knitted his eyebrows together, "How did you know?"

"That's what happens when you're controlled by the darkness," Ryou said softly, a sweet epiphany dawning on him, "You were controlled by the darkness…!"

Tears stung the back of Ryou's eyes. After years (millenniums, even?), finally, finally someone understood. Without a moment's hesitation, Ryou flung himself into the thief's arms.

The thief gasped out in surprise.

(But didn't exactly resist.)

-0-

"He forgave you?"

"Yes! Yes! For the third time yes, Malik. Don't make me hurt you."

"You? I thought he would never so much as talk to you…much less hug you…"

"So. When are you going to see him?"

"Right now!"

-0-

There was a knock on Ryou's door.

Ryou opened it to find a dishevelled Malik, panting and wheezing.

"I just ran all the way across town to see you," he gasped out.

The white haired boy blinked, and then let him in.

"Do you want some tea?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

(Malik. Blunter than a lead pipe.)

"That depends," Ryou said, "Are you sorry?"

"For talking to Bakura? No way! I mean, yeah, he's a total bastard at times but he's not ev-"

Ryou cut Malik off, "Are you sorry for lying to me?"

Malik eyes widened, but then he looked away.

"Yeah."

"Then I'm not mad at you anymore."

Malik perked up, "Really? It was that easy?"

Ryou nodded.

"Why didn't you just tell me, though? I would have been upset…but it would have been better than me having to find out like that. Though I can't imagine why you talked to him in the first place," Ryou said with a sigh.

Malik dodged Ryou's gaze.

"I talked to him because I figured if he had somehow changed, then maybe I'd changed after all. Really changed. If he got his second chance and deserved it, maybe I deserved my second chance, too."

"Malik," Ryou said, completely taken aback.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to hate me," Malik continued, "You're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me."

-0-

Yuugi said he'd stopped by the museum to check out the new exhibit.

(But Ryou was sure it was just a polite way of saying 'I told you so'.)

-0-

"Why do you think they came back?" Ryou asked, as he stirred his tea.

"Honestly?" Malik said.

Ryou nodded.

"Maybe the Gods realized that you and Yuugi were so utterly messed up, that bringing them back couldn't do anything but help."

Ryou stared at him for a long time. Then laughed.

Malik laughed along with him.

-0-

"It changed you, didn't it?" Ryou said, facing the rising sun, "Whatever brought you back."

The thief shifted his hand over Ryou's shoulder lazily.

"I don't know," he whispered, voice softer than normal, "Everything's such a blur. I remember the hate I felt so clearly, it's almost like feeling it. You called me that, once. Hate. It burned in me for so long… I don't think that can change. I don't think I can ever be more than that."

The thief turned to him, his grey eyes smothering. There was a quiet innocence to his face while he waited for a response.

Ryou turned to, again, face the sun.

"I think we can."


A/N Will comment on the OMG OVER 500 REVIEWS later when more coherent. =D