Yugi stared in astonishment at Atem's reaction to Bakura being a bit annoying. The fact that Atem had done it so casually and then walked away like it was 'normal' made him question how long things had been like this between the two.

"Wow…that was very out of character," Imhotep stated, looking just as surprised.

Bakura grumbled something incomprehensible as he walked away, presumably to do something about the coffee that was now soaked into his hair.

Yugi decided to take a seat on the sofa while he and Imhotep waited for Atem to return (preferably before Bakura).

"Should we be worried?" he asked his twin.

"I have no idea," Imhotep replied, taking a seat beside him. "Shae said he wasn't adjusting well to being alive again. I wonder if this is part of what she meant?"

Yugi shrugged. "I'm still trying to understand how Bakura is supposed to be 'helping' with that? From the looks of things, he was just being intentionally annoying. How is that supposed to help him?"

"Because it makes him feel something," came a voice from behind.

Yugi and Imhotep quickly stood and turned around, finding themselves greeted by a soft smile.

"Ryou!" Yugi shouted happily, excited to see his friend again (and equally excited seeing him dressed 'normal', instead of in some sort of warrior-angel getup). A part of him wanted to rush over and embrace Ryou, but another part said that it would be too weird.

Ryou appeared surprised to see Yugi's reaction to his presence. "That's not quite what I expected…"

Yugi's face fell in confusion. "You've been gone for a few weeks now, and when I last saw you we didn't even get to talk. I still don't even know why you chose to leave in the first place?"

Ryou was silent for a long moment, staring as if contemplating something.

"How long?" he asked.

Yugi's brow furled even further in confusion. "I'm sorry…how long for what?"

"How long did it take for you to even realize that I was no longer around?" Ryou clarified.

Yugi stood there in shock, trying to say something…anything…but his voice was caught in his throat. He knew the answer, and that answer filled him with guilt. He had tried so hard to be a good friend to all of his friends…but Ryou had just thrown the fact that he'd let one of his friends fall through the cracks right in his face.

"I'm sorry…" was all he finally managed to choke out.

Ryou's features softened, looking a bit sad. "Exactly. You want to know why I chose to leave? I couldn't think of a reason to stay. I felt I had nothing to look forward to with that life. I was always just there and never a part of. I still don't have much to look forward to, but now I am in a place where I am not only acknowledged, but respected as well. I don't feel like I have to fight to insert myself. I just…belong."

Imhotep rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah…being an errand bird for the gods is totally where you belong."

Ryou turned his gaze towards Imhotep, and Yugi could swear he saw them glow for the briefest moment.

Imhotep narrowed his eyes. "Get a good look?"

Ryou had narrowed his eyes as well. Yugi was certain that with the harsh glares the two were giving each other, and the thick tension he could literally feel in the air around them, a fight was about to break out.

He wondered if a fight would actually happen. Sure, Imhotep was a bit on the hot-headed side, but that Yugi could recall, Ryou was more into finding a peaceful solution than throwing fists. The key word being 'was'. Ryou wasn't the same. He'd left his 'old life' behind to become someone…something…else.

'If I had been a better friend, this wouldn't be happening! Ryou would still be going to school with us. He'd be the one hanging out with us at lunch. It would be Ryou, not Bakura. If I had been a better friend, we-'

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, and he was surprised to see two concerned faces looking at him.

"Dude, loud thoughts. Like, super loud. Even with the doors being barely open. Is that what it was like coming from me? No wonder you snapped the way you did. I would too if that was all I heard nonstop."

Yugi couldn't help but stare dumbfoundedly for a moment. Had he been internally panicking about the situation that bad?

"Sorry," he said, his gaze falling. "Still getting used to that even being a thing."

He thought he'd gotten used to this new 'normal', but apparently not. It still found ways to keep throwing things at him.

Why hadn't it been this hard to get used to when he first discovered that he was playing host to an ancient spirit? He didn't even question things, just accepted them. He'd never been weirded out by magic or having someone being able to hear his thoughts before. He'd experienced enough 'weird' that it was just as 'normal' as the things he was encountering now. What changed?

He knew the answer, but apparently he was still having a hard time accepting it.

"Listen, we weren't going to fight," Imhotep stated, interrupting Yugi's internal musings. "What you saw, it was…oh, how do I explain it? It was a 'greeting' of sorts. Kind of like how two strangers shake hands and say 'hello'."

Yugi looked at his twin in bewilderment.

"How is glaring at each other a sort of 'greeting'? What's wrong with a handsha-...ohhh."

Yugi had forgotten that those like Imhotep only shook hands when making a deal.

"It's quite an interesting way to greet one another," Ryou piped up, looking a little too excited about things. "You expand your aura to where it can be felt on a physical level so that the other party can 'read' it. I find the concept quite fascinating!"

Imhotep removed his hand from Yugi's shoulder and jerked a thumb towards Ryou.

"I was pretty much able to gather that bird boy, here, is weird, but in a cool way. He reminds me of a lammergeier."

"A what?" Yugi asked in confusion.

"Oh! It's a type of vulture that prefers eating bones over meat!" Ryou stated excitedly. "Did you know that it will pick up bones, and sometimes tortoises, and drop them from really high up so that they will crack apart? There's even a record of a man being killed from a tortoise landing on his head after a lammergeier dropped one to break apart the shell!"

Yugi blinked a few times before smiling. At least that was something that hadn't changed about Ryou.

"This guy is officially my new best friend," Imhotep stated out of nowhere.

Yugi didn't think Ryou could look any more excited than he already was.

"Does that mean I can come see your collection in-person?!"

"Of course! Oh, but it would have to be later. As you 'saw', we're here visiting."

"Actually, I'm here visiting as well. Though I was expected," Ryou said with a small laugh.

Yugi looked at Ryou in confusion. "What do you mean you were expected?"

Ryou looked uneasy as he cast his gaze down and off to the side.

"He invited me."

It took Yugi a brief moment to realize who Ryou was talking about.

"You mean Bakura?"

Ryou winced at the name, making Yugi instantly regret saying it.

"Sorry. I forgot."

Ryou shook his head.

"It's okay. I know it's his name, but…well…it's complicated. For the longest time I was never really 'Ryou', I was 'Bakura'...and now I can't help but shudder a little each time I hear that name."

He took a deep breath.

"But I know why he was like that, now. I'm-…we're…trying to work past all of that. He and I…we both want the same thing. We're just not certain how to go about it with everything that has happened. That's why when he reached out yesterday and asked if I'd be willing to come visit for a bit today, I said yes."

That was a bit of a surprise. Ryou wanted to get along with Bakura?

Yugi realized it shouldn't have been that surprising. Now that Bakura wasn't trying to constantly send people to the Shadow realm, Yugi realized he wasn't that bad of a person to be around. Honestly, he was just a more crass version of Imhotep.

Still…it was obvious that despite wanting that change, Ryou appeared a bit nervous about visiting with Bakura.

Honestly, Yugi was a bit nervous visiting with Atem. Especially after what he'd seen just before Ryou's arrival.

Before he'd just up and vanished, Yugi thought he'd gotten over his reservations about Atem being completely different from the person he knew. Seeing him just leave at a time like that had renewed those reservations. He realized now that he hadn't really processed how he felt at the time, because he'd been busy dealing with Imhotep's own issues bombarding his head at the time.

"I know we're each here to visit our respective…parent," Yugi began, not really being comfortable calling Atem 'father' just yet (and he was certain Ryou felt the same when it came to Bakura). "But if you want, maybe we can make it a group thing so you can just get used to being around him without having to do it alone," he suggested, taking care to avoid using Bakura's name any more than he had to in Ryou's presence.

Ryou looked a little shocked by the suggestion.

"You don't have to do that. I can handle him just fine. I did it for more years than I care to admit."

Back to the harsh slap in the face that Yugi hadn't been there to help his friend when he needed it most.

Yugi's eyes fell to the ground.

"I can't change that I wasn't there to help you before…"

He looked over at Ryou, subconsciously pleading for his friend to give him this chance.

"But I want to be there for you now."

He could tell Ryou was heavily contemplating it by the expression on his face.

"I don't know…I'd hate to intrude on what was meant to be time spent with your own paternal figure…"

Imhotep slung an arm around the shoulders of his 'new best friend'.

"Birdie, if you want it, then it's not an intrusion. Plus, as you already 'saw', we have our own issues we have to work out with our own old man. I'm not entirely certain we're ready for any sort of one-on-one with him yet. Well, technically in our case it's two-on-one, but you get the point."

Ryou looked a little alarmed at first when Imhotep first drew him in, but it quickly gave way to an appreciative smile by the time the teen had finished speaking.

"Alright. So long as everyone agrees to it, I don't see why not. We'll just have to wait for the other two to return to ask them their opinion."

Imhotep drew down a fist pump.

"Yes! First time hanging out with my new bestie!"

His face switched from enthusiastic to curious.

"Uh, you're cool if I call you Birdie, right?"

Ryou gave him a cheerful smile.

"It's fine. I've been called worse," he said with a small chuckle.

I think Ryou being a lammergeier (bearded vulture) fits him...especially after dropping that boneheaded Bakura from the sky. In earlier chapters his mask is described as a 'falcon', but that description was meant to be from a general perspective (pointy-hook beak = falcon/hawk/etc). It will still get described that way from most character perspectives, with the exception of those who actually know the difference.