Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ A Thousand Words ❯ How strong of a hold you had on me... ( Chapter 11 )

~Manipulation. Fabrication.

Conversation. Annihilation.

I'll say a thousand words or more.~

`It's been almost two months since we've left our past behind. Two months since we've left them and went our way. Two months since we, the hikaris, left our yamis. Two damn months since light and dark broke apart. Ha! It's been two months and I still find myself thinking about him. Such a cruel game for fate to play.' Ryou thought as he sat by the window.

The sound of laughter made him turn his head towards the kitchen. A small smile graced his lips as his mind wandered back to a couple of weeks ago. The three of them started this trip to an unknown place together, and they stuck together through the events that they each faced.

"Hey, Ryou. Dinner's ready." Yugi said as he stuck his tri-colored head through the doorway and smiled.

The smile on Ryou's lips grew as he stood up. He'd been sick for the past week and a half and Yugi and Malik had banned him from the kitchen since. Although the two were great cooks, Ryou knew that he still had them beat when it came down to cooking. It was a second nature to him considering the fact that he had been cooking for himself at a young age. With his father's leaving for duty all the time, he had to learn or starve.

"I'm coming, Yugi. I'm coming. I just hope that you and Malik didn't break our kitchen apart." Ryou wasn't surprised to see the kitchen in a mess, but the dinner on the table was what stole him breath away.

"Oh my…" the words trailed off as he stared in awe at the food on the table. They had made a complete replica of his special dish. But what had caught him off guard was the cake in the middle of the table.

"Happy birthday, Ryou." Malik and Yugi whispered as they stood next to him.

Turning around to face them, tears threatened to fall. They remembered even though he, himself, had forgotten. A laugh-filled sob erupted from his lips as he hugged them both.

"Thank you." Was all the words that he needed to say for the others knew exactly what he was thanking them for.

~That Night~

Ryou laid in his bed staring out the window into the starlit sky. His mind and thoughts took him back to a place his dreams haunted. It took him back to a place where he had left behind all this time. He wondered what his counterpart was doing at that moment.

As sleep came over him, a small statement was whispered as it had been whispered every other night before. A sentence that proved just how strong of a hold the dark still had on him.

"I love you, Kura…"