The next morning was another dreary one. Ryou reluctantly went through his morning routine, occasionally glancing out at the grey skies through the glass backyard doors of the kitchen.

'I wonder if it rains in Wonderland... I never got to ask anyone. Though I'm sure it must rain frogs or something equally absurd...' His mind wandered as he went about getting dressed and groomed for another day. The student was just finishing his breakfast of toasted waffles, when he heard a strange noise- rather like the scratching of tree branches against a glass window pane. "Hmm?" Ryou glanced around, noting the calmness of the cloudy day. 'Odd... there's no wind right now...-?'

The confused youth took the last sip of his orange juice when he heard the strange noise again. This time, he could tell that the sound was coming from somewhere closer to the ground, and he glanced towards the bottom of the glass doors.

"Wha- Yugi?!" Ryou jumped in shock. There was no mistaking the pitch-black rabbit who had first led him to the other realm. Now the little lapin was sitting there, staring inward, his tiny nose twitching in irritation.

The startled teen quickly slid one of the glass panels aside, allowing the animal to hop inside. The sleek bunny glanced up at the youth with a tilted head. Even though his voice was gone, Ryou could swear he could still hear the Wonderland resident speaking in his innocent, high-pitched tone.

"Oh Yugi, I'm sorry- I don't belong in Wonderland- I belong here. This is my world." But even Ryou could hear the heavy uncertainty dragging down his own words. "I- I can't just leave it for yours! I'm sorry- I didn't mean to hurt anyone..." His voice trailed off as he pictured the pleasant group of friendly creatures he'd met. They'd almost all taken to him without question- so open and friendly and non-judgmental, right from the start. And that attractive king...

Ryou wasn't prone to crying without good reason, but tears began streaming down his face yet again. He began lightly sobbing while the long-eared messenger gently patted his ankles, as though trying to comfort the much larger youth. Ryou could only mutter, "I'm sorry" a few times while the smaller creature waited for him to regain his compsure. Eventually, the boy stopped sobbing and glanced into the other's wide, kind eyes.

"Yugi-kun... can you take me back to the portal? Can... can you take me back to the other world?"

The little rabbit began nodding his head enthusiastically, and Ryou almost laughed as he imagined him crying out, "yes, you silly goof! Why do you think I came back here?!"

For the first time in many hours, Ryou Bakura had a genuine smile on his face. He decided not to change out of his school uniform, just in case some nosy adult tried to stop him. He left a quick note for his father, vaguely stating that he had found a better life elsewhere, and not to worry.

'Not that he would even notice,' Ryou frowned as he penned the last line. He had been thinking about his father since the night before, and he could count on one hand the number of phone calls he'd gotten just this year. 'I suppose I've been lying to myself, telling myself that he needed time to heal from losing mother and Amane... but what sort of father ignores his grieving son and moves half-way 'round the world for half a decade?'

A few minor duties later, and Ryou had effectively locked down and 'abandoned' the empty house. He glanced back at the old structure, a bittersweet smile on his face. 'I can't just stay here, mired in the memories of yesterday... mother, Amane... I will never forget our life here, but I need to try and find happiness elsewhere. I'll never forget you both.' He turned towards the sidewalk, where a black ball of fur was already waiting for him. Although Yugi claimed to be much more patient than Jou, the young rabbit was still tapping one of his hind legs against the ground. He was clearly was trying to urge the other traveler to pick up the pace.

Ryou gasped as he remembered what Shizuka, the librarian, had said about the portals 'waxing and waning'- they could very well be on a time limit now! "I'm so sorry, Yugi-kun! I'll hurry!"

And so the pair raced off towards the same alleyway where they had first met. Ryou hadn't bothered grabbing his backpack this time- he knew he wouldn't need it. Unfortunately, even without the additional burden, Ryou could not keep up with the four-legged foreigner.

"Yugi-kun! Please, wait up!"

The little rabbit sat down on the sidewalk ahead of his trailing companion, when a loud and crude laugh from a nearby alley suddenly startled both of the travelers.

"Are you kidding me, Bakura? You're actually talking to a rabbit?!"

Ryou's heart sank with fear. He recognized that voice- it belonged to one of the largest, cruelest creeps at his high school- Ushio Higurashi.

A second voice soon joined the first. "Well, we know he's got no interest in p****!"

'Uh-oh...' It seemed Ushio wasn't alone today, and Ryou recognized several of the other voices now mocking him.

Four very large teens suddenly filed out of the alley. Ryou could see their discarded cigarette stubs, still smoldering on the ground. Evidently they'd decided to hang out before school and share a pack. Ryou glanced at the now-confused Yugi and hastily whispered, "Yugi, RUN!"

The rabbit seemed hesitant to leave his friend, but then one of the bullies noticed how close he was. The smirking degenerate slammed his foot down, nearly stomping on Yugi's head. Thankfully, the little lapin was quick, and he took off like a shot- just avoiding getting crushed by the jerk's sneaker.

Ryou let out a sigh of relief, only to remember his own situation when the taunting started up again. "Aw, did we scare off your only friend?" A cackling laughter spread throughout the group, and Ushio snorted as he leered down at the shorter classmate. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make more in the E.R.!"

Ryou tried to take a step backwards, but Ushio grabbed him by the shirt collar and threw him against the filthy alley wall.

"Y'know, there's an interesting rumor going 'round our school- apparently you've never been on a date." The other miscreants began letting out jeers of agreement. "In fact, none of the girls who constantly follow you claim to have actually gone out with you."

'Oh no...' Ryou felt a sinking feeling growing in his stomach. He had a feeling he knew what Ushio was about to say next.

"See, we don't tolerate that sort of bull**** around here– you go and make all the girls fall for you, and then go around and **** their boyfriends behind their backs? That's inexcusable."

"I-I would never-!" Ryou gasped as Ushio tightened his grip around his collar. He could feel his windpipe being crushed, and he knew his tormentors were serious.

The other boys keep egging their leader on, hurling insults at their struggling classmate while sometimes throwing stones and garbage at his face.

"He barely looks like a man, but at least he can go out like one!"

The choking student could see spots dancing before his eyes. 'This is it... this is how I die...' A single tear slid down the side of his face as his tormentor pulled back his fist. 'Everyone, I'm so sorry... I let you down...'

Ryou let out a pained yelp as he felt a fist collide with his stomach. He doubled over, and winced as he heard a vicious voice snarl into his ear.

"You're gonna die here, f****t."