Omega19x: *Ryou is at Malik's, gathering the ingredients for the cake Amane and he were going to bake. She was getting ready for Seto's party of course. And cake was a necessity.*

Koshari Chef: Amane had just finished getting back into her body from a rather long night at the hospital, and was at least glad to find that she didn't feel tired afterwards. Maybe a little contemplative, but...well that wasn't a bad thing. She knocked on the Ishtars' door and waited to be let in.

Omega19x: *door opens* "... Hi... hi Amane... I... I've been waiting for you... gathering... gathering things."

Koshari Chef: "Hey, Ryou!" She smiled, more politely than she was accustomed to. "Thanks again, for...helping. I mean, if it was me and someone had...I wouldn't help."

Omega19x: "... someone had... had what?"

Koshari Chef: "...You know, just...well Seto told me he'd been a real prick to you." A light cough. "You know."

Omega19x: "... it... it was probably my fault... somehow... He's... he's probably under a lot of stress..."

Koshari Chef: She placed a hand on her hip and gave Ryou a Look. "...it's your fault he's under stress? Don't get me wrong, I adore Seto, but there wasn't any excuse for that. No guilt complexes, k?"

Omega19x: "... sorry..."

Koshari Chef: Amane was torn between sighing and laughing, so she did both. "Ryou."

Omega19x: *eyes droop, before changing subject* "... Did... did you have any particular cake you wanted to make? I... I just found a nice recipe for an almond lemon cake..."

Koshari Chef: She gave him a teasing grin. "There's flavors besides chocolate and white now? Sounds good to me! How're we going to make it into a Blue Eyes?"

Omega19x: "... food coloring."

Omega19x: "I don't have a dragon shaped pan, but... we... we can always just draw a dragon on the top of the cake in icing."

Koshari Chef: "Oh. ...Hey, yeah. Ok, show me what to do." She figured keeping hair out of the mixing would be a good idea, and tied it back quickly.

Omega19x: *passes her the recipe*

Omega19x: "... I'll start... with the eggs, if you'll start stirring together the dry ingredients."

Koshari Chef: Her eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. "Ok...uhm, what's a cream of tartar?"

Omega19x: "... it's an acidic powder... it gives creamy texture to sugary things... like cakes... when mixed with egg whites."

Omega19x: *starts cracking eggs and separating the yolks from the whites*

Koshari Chef: "Oh! That sounds good already." Amane began mixing flour, sugar, cream of tartar....

Omega19x: "... wait... the cream of tartar goes with the eggs... just follow the directions..."
Omega19x: "measure out the flour, baking powder, and salt..."

Koshari Chef: "Oh." Amane shifted uneasily. "Sorry."

Omega19x: "... you... you don't cook much... I guess... when you're dead... It's okay..."
Omega19x: "... We're not going to run out of ingredients... we can make a few mistakes..."

Koshari Chef: "Yeah, but I...at least know how to read. ...Say, what sort of things do you like to do? Like, reading and...things?"

Omega19x: "... I like to read. Still."
Omega19x: "... I... don't get too much time to do it anymore... with working and all..."
Omega19x: *beating egg whites with cream of tartar*
Omega19x: "... will you measure out 1/2 cup of sugar for me?"

Koshari Chef: Amane did so and handed it to him. "How're things with Malik and your yami?"

Omega19x: "... quite nice..." *smiles as he mixes it in with the eggs*
Omega19x: "... Malik and I... we're going up to the mountains tomorrow... to spend a night in the cabins."

Koshari Chef: "Yeah?" Amane grinned and continued sifting. "That Malik guy seems pretty nice...I guess I haven't really met your yami." She nodded. "I didn't know there were cabins around here. So you still like camping, huh?"
Omega19x: "the cabins are out by Mt. Kaikomagatake... It's about four hours from here..."

Koshari Chef: "Oh...wow. Long walk," she said, laughing. "...I'm really sorry about the last time I came here, by the way. I just...wasn't really myself, I guess."

Omega19x: "... don't worry about it... I... I was really ne..nervous about meeting you... um... again... You can imagine how that is..."

Omega19x: "it's... it's been a long time..."
Omega19x: *creams butter and adds some of the sugar, as well as lemon rind, and the other ingredients*

Koshari Chef: "Yeah," she murmured. "I guess there's not much truth to that saying...about absence and your heart getting fonder. Or longer. Or...ok, I don't really remember how the saying goes, but...it doesn't really fit, whatever it is." She paused a second and continued stirring. "I guess we'll just have to start over, huh."

Omega19x: "... you... you mean... with us? Or... or the cake?"

Koshari Chef: "...Us." She motioned to the bowl. "The cake seems to be doing pretty well."

Omega19x: *weak smile* "Here... pour your bowl of ingredients into my bowl... I'll start mixing things..."

Omega19x: *Ryou mixes ingredients together, stirring them into one large bowl*
Omega19x: *He passes the bowl to Amane* "... Here... start beating this with a large spoon, and I'll start pouring in some of the other ingredients. Okay?"

Koshari Chef: Amane nods and begins mixing the contents roughly. "So, tell me about your yami. Now that he's not all crazy."

Omega19x: "... oh... um... he's quite... nice... He protects me... and... and things like that..." *is adding more to her bowl*
Omega19x: "He watches out for me."
Omega19x: "... Sure... he... he can be violent, and he steals things... a lot. But he's not as scary as anyone says."

Koshari Chef: Amane looked at him steadily, then continued mixing. "Not as scary as...as when you used to tell me about him?"

Omega19x: "... not... well... Ever since I got sick... he's... he's calmed down a lot."
Omega19x: "... he doesn't hit me anymore... He's... very gentle, really..."

Koshari Chef: Her hand twitched minutely at that, and she was biting the inside of her lip. She tried to keep her tone amiable when she spoke again, but it grated harshly and there was no mistaking that she was simply pretending. "Yeah? Why do you think he turned a 180?"

Omega19x: "I... I don't know... really... It was after our bodies split..."
Omega19x: "Maybe we... just needed the time apart... When we did split... He took off... I didn't see or feel him for a month... and then he eventually came back, and found me sick."
Omega19x: "... before that... I... I was usually afraid of him... I'd try to hide... but... but when I was alone... I... I really missed him... Even when he did hit me... I missed him..."
Omega19x: "Maybe he sensed that..."

Koshari Chef: She stared. And then stared a bit longer. "Ryou...I...I get loneliness, I do, but..." she frowned at the contents of the bowl. "...why?"

Omega19x: "Why... why what?"

Koshari Chef: "I'd have killed him if I could have. Why...why did you take him back, when you finally didn't have to?"

Omega19x: "... take... take him back?"

Koshari Chef: She grit her teeth and considered backing out. ...But then she didn't. "Why, when you weren't sharing a body, didn't you just tell him to leave? To stay gone? After everything he did, all the people he hurt through you, after he hurt you most of all, you just..." she shook her head. "...I don't...get it."

Omega19x: "... He was never really gone... he... he was... He always will be... the other half of my soul..."
Omega19x: "... Why would I want him gone?"

Koshari Chef: Amane scowled deeper and answered, "We are who we are. Souls aren't made up of parts." before she could stop herself or think better of it.

Omega19x: "... He's my YAMI... Amane... I'm his HIKARI... Your soul... it might be whole... Mine isn't."

Koshari Chef: The contents of the bowl were pretty well-beaten by this point. It was probably a good thing they couldn't bruise. "...I guess," Amane said finally, quietly, not bothering to cover the doubt. "...But, don't you think maybe just having him in your mind for so long makes it seem like that? Don't you think it's possible? I mean, I've been in Seto's mind, and--...but that doesn't mean I'm his soul mate."

Omega19x: "I... I didn't say soul mate... I... I said other half of my soul... literally..."
Omega19x: *blushes at the thought of soul mates... He has two of those right now anyway...*
Omega19x: *starts chopping almonds.* "... Amane... will you grease and flour the pan, please..."

Koshari Chef: She sighed. "I know you've never..." she trailed off, growled softly under her breath and set about preparing the pan. "...what do you think of apples?"

Omega19x: "... apples?"
Omega19x: "... This is a lemon cake... I thought..."

Koshari Chef: "I know. I just mean, out of the whole world of apples, what do you think about them? Green or red?"

Omega19x: "... oh... um... I... I like apples..."

Koshari Chef: Amane nodded and exhaled heavily, smiled and offered the pan. "Now what?"

Omega19x: "... pour the batter into the pan... I'll go heat up the oven..."
Omega19x: *turns it to 350 degrees*
Omega19x: "... You... you don't like my yami... do... do you..."

Koshari Chef: Her expression was at once gentle and jaded. "What's not to like? First I heard of him, he was killing or imprisoning your friends, beating you, locking you up when you tried to stop him, trying to, what was it, 'awaken the darkness'..." She swallowed and shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe I'm just skeptical, but...then again maybe I haven't heard anything but shitty things about him. I mean, you stopped writing to me, and so I came to see if you were even still breathing on your own, and now...he's a nice guy?"

Omega19x: "... He... I don't think he meant it..."
Omega19x: "... I... He was just angry... He... he regrets it... he does..."

Koshari Chef: "How do you know?"

Omega19x: "... He hurts inside... I... I can see it in his eyes... He... he always hurt... I... I just never saw it... I... I should have treated him better... earlier..."
Omega19x: "... I shouldn't have been fighting with him... He... he only hit me... when... when I deserved it..."
Omega19x: "... When I was stopping him from getting the items..."
Omega19x: "It's... it's strange... now... He... now... doesn't seem to care that much about them... He... he gave up the ankh to... to help cure me..."

Koshari Chef: Motives changed; very little else about people did, though. Amane's eyes became darker, almost black. "Ryou," she said, softly, her voice faintly trembling. "...don't you fucking dare try to pin his idiocy on yourself. He...he...goddamn him, don't you dare stand here and tell me it's your fault that he hurt you!"

Omega19x: "... He's the only one that's... that's ever cared for me... even bothered to... to notice me... for... for ten years... Don't... don't just waltz into my life... and tell me who does... and... and who doesn't have my best interests in mind!" *shouted with a ferocity Ryou had no idea he even posessed.*
Omega19x: "..." *stands there for a moment, still pointing a finger at Amane. His jaw drops. He can't remember the last time he ever felt like that. Not even when Seto picked on him.*

Koshari Chef: Amane had stepped forward, glaring, fists clenched though she knew distantly she'd never be able to raise them against Ryou. "Who the hell do you think was trying to get back to you for eleven godforsaken years? You think I was sitting in heaven, thinking of you when I got bored with singing? Fuck you! Don't you ever say that monster cared more for you than I did! Do you even know what it's been like, coming back? Do you know how many people...." She shook her head, fighting hard now against further screams or tears, or violence... "...So he's using you, and that's enough."

Omega19x: "He's not a... a monster!!"

Koshari Chef: She smirked, so close to a sneer, so closely resembling Ryou's own yami a few short years ago. "Yeah? Do you remember Ryoko? Sweet little thing you went to school with? I met her in hell, Ryou. Do you remember who sent her there?"

Omega19x: "..." *Tries not to think about her. He's trembling now, trying to raise his voice again* "... If... if anyone should know how it feels to come back... it's... it's my yami! he's been dead for... for three thousand years! Alone... in... in the shadows... for three thousand years! How does that feel?"
Omega19x: "It's... it's enough to drive anyone mad!"

Koshari Chef: "And he came back to kill us all. To send whoever he wanted to exactly the same place he came from. Yeah, madness...that's an excuse to sit him down to dinner."

Omega19x: "... It's... it's the pharaoh... He... the pharaoh killed everyone he ever knew... He... he wanted revenge... He... he was confused... You don't know him at all!!"
Omega19x: *is shouting now, something Ryou can't even remember the last time he ever did*
Omega19x: "... I... I know him... I know his pain... I know his... his love... I... I know him, Amane."
Omega19x: "... I... I... I've forgiven him... for... for what he did to me..."
Omega19x: *voice trembles*

Koshari Chef: "No, I don't know him," Amane snapped. "And you know what? I don't care. What I know is that he's done the same things that were done to him, and then justified it because he was a victim three thousand years ago. And what else I know is that because you were left alone, mostly because of him killing off your friends, you cling to him and you've forgotten that anyone else would suffer for you, would care about you no matter what else was going on!" She almost, almost grabbed him...but she lowered her hand again. "Fine. If that's how you want it, fine. You're just...go, then, go run back to him, be his loving little puppet, fine!"

Omega19x: '... I... I am not his puppet! He... he lo..loves me..."
Omega19x: "... he... he... he loves me..."

Koshari Chef: "So do I," Amane snarled. "But fuck, don't listen to that either."

Omega19x: "... I never said..." *shouting dies down a bit. "I never said you didn't... I'm... I'm trying my best... to... to remember you... to... to love you the way I... I always used to..."
Omega19x: "It's... it's so very hard... You're... you're different... You've been through things I... I fear..."
Omega19x: "And I'm... I'm... I'm probably not the same Ryou either..."
Omega19x signed on at 6:00:16 PM.

Koshari Chef: She shivered. "You're different...but the other Ryou...he's not the one I remember, either." She bit her tongue hard, and only relaxed when she was sure she wouldn't tremble anymore. She tasted blood and tried to ignore it. "I'm trying, too."

Omega19x: *a deep sigh, as Ryou takes the pan from the counter, the now blue cake mix inside, and slides it in the oven.*

Koshari Chef: "I didn't mean to...hurt you, Ryou."

Omega19x: "... No... it's... it's my fault..."

Koshari Chef: "You're going to make me do terrible things, to get you to blame me for something that's actually my fault...you know that, right," Amane said flatly, sighing and looking away. "I'm not sorry for...being honest with you. But I could've put it better."

Omega19x: "I'm... I shouldn't have... have raised my voice..."

Koshari Chef: "No, I'm...actually kind of proud of you. And one of us would have had to, anyway..."

Omega19x: "... I... I know what it's like to have no one... Amane... I... if... If hiting me... or... hurting me... if... it helped to lessen his pain... I'd... I'd go through it again... I would..."
Omega19x: "I'm... I'm half empty without him. I... I need him... He... he needs me..."

Koshari Chef: "I know." She'd been slumped against the refridgerator, but she straightened a bit now. "But you'll just have to live with hating me for hating him over it. Just because you were willing to..." be tactful "...'help' him that way doesn't mean he should have taken advantage of it."

Omega19x: "... Amane... I'm sure you've done things you weren't proud of... You... you're in a body that isn't your own... You must have at least an idea of what my yami's afterlife was like..."
Omega19x: "... How well... how well do you treat her?" *points to the body that Amane is currently in. "Have you even... thought about that?"
Omega19x: "... When you leave, does she feel your pain? Do you hear her thoughts or do you not?"

Koshari Chef: All at once, the anger was gone--so was the concern, the fear, and the hurt, and all other perceivable emotions. "...She's dead. She killed herself and I took her body, so there...there is no 'her', it's just me."

Omega19x: "... Did you see her in hell too?"

Koshari Chef: "No, she...did it after I got back here." Amane fussed with the magnets. "I don't know if she went to the same hell I did anyway...she was kind of old."

Omega19x: "it's... not too different, really..."

Koshari Chef: "What do you mean? Hell, or...?"

Omega19x: "... you... you and my yami..."
Omega19x: "I... I think you just hate him... because he... he reminds you... of... of yourself... a little..."
Omega19x: *backs away, fears he might be hit for saying something like that, even to his own sister.*

Koshari Chef: "She would have blown her head off..." Amane protested weakly, and her composure slips. "...I don't hate myself...I d..don't." She breathed around the lump in her throat. "...I hate him because he's made you think you deserve this."

Omega19x: "... The... the ring was destined for me... Of course I deserve it?"
Omega19x: "... of course I do."

Koshari Chef: "The Ring is a magical Item...it's not abuse and isolation and having your friends murdered. So even if you were destined to have it, you weren't destined to have that done to you."

Omega19x: "... at least... when it was happening to me... it wasn't happening to someone else..."
Omega19x: "Not... not like I could... could have controlled it... It's fate... you know..."
Omega19x signed on at 6:39:50 PM.

Koshari Chef: She nodded distantly. "Can't argue with the big F." She, still fidgeting, took a peak into the oven.

Omega19x signed on at 6:44:00 PM.

Koshari Chef: "...How do we make the icing?"

Omega19x: "Just mix that white icing... with this blue food coloring."
Omega19x: "... and by the time you're done... the cake will be ready..."

Koshari Chef: Amane began mixing them, idly stealing a taste. She looked back at Ryou hesitantly. When he wasn't watching her--at least she hoped he wasn't--she got a dab of icing on her finger and smeared it playfully on his nose.

Omega19x: *blink*
Omega19x: *wipes it with his finger, and licks it. It's quite sweet.*

Koshari Chef: "Jeez, Ryou, if you wanted some you could have just said so," she said teasingly.

Omega19x: "...um..."
Omega19x: *blinks at her confusedly*

Koshari Chef: She frowned at his lack of response and, just as suddenly as before, slathered him again. "Whatcha gonna do?"

Omega19x: "... um... take the... the cake out of the oven... before it burns..."

Koshari Chef: Amane snickered. "Fine, Mr. Practicality...." Her smile fell when she turned back to mixing the icing.

Omega19x: "... Well... we don't want a burned cake..."
Omega19x: *licks frosting off his face as he walks to the oven, and pulls out the cake*
Omega19x: "... ah... it's done.."

Koshari Chef: Amane got the frosting to what she figured was the right color and set it aside while the cake cooled. "Hey, how's Isis doing? Since, uhm, the last time she used the Tauk. It hasn't tried to eat her or anything, right?"

Omega19x: "... no... I don't think so..."
Omega19x: "... I'm... I'm not going anywhere near it, though..."

Koshari Chef: "I really don't blame you. Just what did you ask it, or think about, when it showed you that last dream?"

Omega19x: "I... I don't know... I... I was scared..."
Omega19x: "I thought about what it had done the last time..."

Koshari Chef: "Were you still a girl when you used it?"

Omega19x: "... no..."
Omega19x: "We had all changed back."

Koshari Chef: "So what's it like being a guy? Now that, you know, you can tell the difference."

Omega19x: *blushes at the topic of conversation* "... um... At least... I... I don't bleed from... you know... um... because that... that really did hurt..."

Koshari Chef: She grimaced. "Yeah...I thought I lucked out, dying so early, but...not anymore. Then what's the worst part about being a guy?"

Omega19x: "... um... I... I guess it's people not thinking you are one... When... when it changed us to girls... everybody... they thought I didn't change..."

Koshari Chef: "oh...yeah, that makes sense. What's the best part?"

Omega19x: "it's... that it's only painful... if something's wrong... and... and not every few weeks... I... I do like that part..."

Koshari Chef: "Yeah, that...that'd be nice." She touched the cake to see if it was still hot. "Ow."

Omega19x: "... careful... "
Omega19x: "... I don't know... really... I... a lot of people say I don't make a very good boy..."

Koshari Chef: "Well, I don't think they're going to fire you from the boy club at least. I think you do a pretty good job of it!" She sucked on her burned finger and then thought better of it and ran it under tapwater. "Some people just need to die."

Omega19x: "... hmm... I guess so..." *smiles a little* "... But I... I do look a lot like a girl, even if I'm not one... And... and never hope to be one again..."

Koshari Chef: "Eh, so you look good!" She said shrugging dramatically. "Since when's that a bad thing?"

Omega19x: "I don't know... My... my boss teases me all the time... about my weight... about how I look..."

Koshari Chef: "You know, you can file a harassment complaint," Amane said. "or you can hire thugs, but that gets expensive."

Omega19x: "... It's not so bad... really... The other nurses say he picks on all the new employees like that..."
Omega19x: "...Not... not like he was nice... when I was sick... and was his patient... but... but still... I don't want to lose my job... or I'll have even larger medical bills to pay..."

Koshari Chef: Amane looked thoughtful...perhaps a little too much so, considering she went to the hospital so often to see Seto. "Doesn't matter who else he does it to, it still makes him an asshat."

Omega19x: *tests the cake again, and determines it's ready to ice.*
Omega19x: "... Here... you start on the cake, I'm going to go get my nozzle... so I can draw a dragon on top..."

Koshari Chef: Amane began smoothing the icing over it, enjoying the smell of it.