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Ryou stood outside the door to the Kame Game Shop with a pensive frown. He had made the trek all the way over at Yugi's behest, but now that he was actually here, he was starting to second-guess his decision. It didn't feel right, being here. Perhaps the nightmare he'd had last night was weighing on him more heavily than he'd thought, though he'd sworn up and down that he was perfectly fine. What was a little nightmare compared to anything else he'd been through, really?
Out of habit, a hand anxiously reached for the Millennium Ring, only for it to instead grasp at empty air. The tips of his fingers grazed the fabric of his shirt as he gasped, startled by the lack of the cursed item, before he once again remembered that it was gone, and had been for some time.
It still didn't make him feel any better.
Had he been given a split second more time waiting outside, he would have turned tail and ran back home, but the door to the game shop opened before he could even think to do so. Again, Ryou jumped, this time caught off-guard by the motion in front of him. Both hands went up near his chest, only falling back to his side at the sight of Yugi's wide smile. "Sorry! You haven't been waiting too long, have you?" he greeted, friendly as always. "I must not have heard you knock on the door."
"N-No, no, it's okay," Ryou stuttered, knowing full well that he hadn't actually knocked at all. "Can I come in?"
"Of course! Come on, my room's upstairs," Yugi replied, gesturing towards the door in the back of the storefront. The two boys weaved their way through the tightly-stocked shelves, past the counter, and through the door with a "NO CUSTOMERS" poster taped onto it at a bit of an angle, all the way up to Yugi's room. It was rather messy, with board games and Duel Monsters paraphernalia placed haphazardly on any available surface that wasn't the floor or his bed.
"Did you bring your deck?" Yugi asked, tilting his head expectantly.
Ryou hesitated to answer for a moment, only to shake his head no. "I must have forgotten it at home," he muttered, looking towards the ground in shame. In truth, he hadn't forgotten it at all. Even though he'd been asked to bring it with him, he deliberately chose not to, in hopes that he wouldn't have to play Duel Monsters if he pretended to forget. He still loved the game, but... for some reason, the thought of playing it wasn't exactly appealing right now. "Sorry, Yugi-kun."
"Hey, that's okay! I've actually got a bunch of decks that you can try, if you want." Yugi reached for his desk, grabbing a few deck boxes from on top of it and holding them out towards Ryou. "This one," he raised the green deck box, "uses Wind monsters. And then this one," he then raised the purple deck box, "uses Fiend monsters—"
"Can I try the Wind deck?" Ryou hastily interrupted. "Er—I... kind of want to try something new."
Yugi simply blinked at him for a second, and then nodded. "Here you go." He placed the deck box in Ryou's open palm, then went back to his desk to dig around for something else. "Playmat, playmat, where are you..."
The deck box felt heavier than it should in Ryou's hand. He stared at it blankly, head heavy with wordless thoughts. Just one game wouldn't be too bad, would it? He could play one game with his friend. He liked playing games with his friends, especially games of Duel Monsters. That was part of who Ryou Bakura was.
"Bakura-kun? Everything's ready to play!" Yugi called to him, startling Ryou once again and making him yelp. "Are you okay? You've been really jumpy today... Did something happen, or...?"
Ryou's shoulders tensed. "No, nothing happened," he responded with a feigned smile, a tightness forming in his chest. "I'm okay, I promise."
"Only if you're sure," Yugi's eyebrows furrowed suspiciously, but he ultimately nodded and smiled back (though his was much more genuine and reassuring). He pulled out a coin with the Dark Magician Girl's face on it and prompted, "Heads or tails?"
"Tails," Ryou responded automatically as he sat down on the opposite side, taking the cards out of the deck box and hastily shuffling them. At the same time, the coin was flipped into the air, then landed with a soft thud.
"Looks like it's heads! I'll go first," Yugi announced, then shuffled his own deck. Once they'd both finished, they drew their opening hands. "Good luck, Bakura-kun!" Yugi nodded enthusiastically.
All that Ryou could find it in himself to do was weakly nod back. He stared down at the cards in his hand, though not really registering any of the text or pictures. Sure, he could read the cards just fine, but none of it stuck, no matter how many times he reread the descriptions. What was the strategy of this deck? How was he supposed to play it? Yugi was making his move, but he hardly paid attention while he desperately tried to grasp what he was supposed to do.
"I end my turn," Yugi said, gesturing to Ryou, who finally looked up from the cards in his hand. His face turned to one of worry and he asked, "Bakura-kun, what's wrong? You're crying."
...Was he crying? Gently, he touched his own face, only to discover that a torrent of tears had boiled over and were sliding down his cheeks. That was when the full force of his emotions hit all at once—he was trembling, sniffling, and hyperventilating, desperate to calm himself down. Why was he crying?! Ryou Bakura loved playing games! He was supposed to be having fun, not crying and wanting to run away! And worst of all, he was embarrassing himself like this in front of Yugi! He had to calm down, he had to calm down, he had to—
Yugi put his cards down on the playmat, and then rushed over to Ryou's side, tentatively putting a hand on his back. "Hey, hey, it's okay..." He consoled, "Take some deep breaths. Do you want me to—"
In the midst of his panic, Ryou dropped the cards he had been holding and threw his arms around Yugi, squeezing tightly as if he were hugging a beloved teddy bear. He buried his head in his friend's shoulder, tears staining the fabric of his shirt while he kept hyperventilating. He felt lightheaded, beating himself up internally for not being able to calm down, which only made his distress grow further.
Reassuringly, though perhaps in a bit of pain due to Ryou's tight hug, Yugi wrapped his own arms around his friend, gently rubbing up and down his back. "It's okay, Bakura-kun. You'll be okay," he comforted, "Why don't we breathe together?"
Ryou made a motion that resembled a nod, and listened.
In...
and out.
In...
and out.
Gradually, he regained control of his body and his emotions, and was only left with numb forearms and a deep sense of shame after the fact. He groaned tiredly as he finally pulled himself away from Yugi, the warmth he'd buried himself in lingering for just a second. It was hard to think still—not because of panic, but out of sheer exhaustion.
All that he could really say was, "I'm sorry."
Yugi waved his hands in front of him emphatically. "Hey, there's no need to apologize!" he reassured. "I promise, I'm not upset or anything."
Ryou looked down towards the floor with a frown, his cheeks hot from embarrassment and his prior outburst. "I... I really am, though," he reiterated. "I came over here to have fun, but I... I just... couldn't." Right now, he wanted to crawl into a corner and hide forever, or at least until he felt better again.
"Why not?" Yugi asked worriedly.
"I don't... feel like me, Yugi-kun," he admitted, "I haven't felt like me for a while." An attempt was made to laugh dismissively, but it came out painfully strained. "Maybe I just need to get a good night's sleep, and then I'll feel better..."
"Bakura-kun..." Yugi whimpered, heart pained by the suffering of his friend. "...I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to say."
"It's okay, really. I'm just glad that you care," affirmed Ryou, instinctively trying to play down just how empty he felt.
Empty. That word resonated in his skull like an echo. He was empty, and he was suffering because of it. It was like... there was a part of him missing, something that he'd never been without. Was it... because of the spirit's absence? The spirit of the Ring had caused him nothing but pain. Objectively, he knew this. But after having to share a body with him for so long, now that he was free, Ryou felt...
"I'm really sorry, Yugi-kun," he apologized again, "I think I'm going to go home. We can play another day, okay?" He forced his unsteady legs off of the ground, and turned to open the door before he heard his friend calling out to him.
"U-Um! Bakura-kun!" he yelled, to which Ryou jumped once more. "I... I don't want to force you, but... If you're feeling lonely, then why don't you stay the night?"
"Stay... the night?"
"Yeah! We don't have to do anything, but... I think it'd be good to stay together for a little bit. Plus, I've... been kinda lonely lately, myself," he smiled sadly, looking down towards his chest.
The Millennium Puzzle wasn't there, of course. That was when Ryou realized: Yugi-kun feels empty, too.
"...Okay. I... didn't bring my pajamas with me, though..." He sheepishly explained, "And I don't have a sleeping bag..."
"That's okay! You can use mine! And I have some extra pillows and blankets... After dinner, we could make s'mores in the microwave, if you want!" He excitedly rattled on and on with a bright smile on his face, overjoyed to be spending more time with his friend.
It must have rubbed off on Ryou, because he found himself smiling, too.