Bakura gave a small nod, looking at his napkin a moment more before tucking it into his shirt. Especially with the size of the cream puffs the bakery made, he didn't want to make a mess of himself.

He gave a faint smile. Blue's words hadn't changed any. Maybe...

He had said that he believed that the Blue here in the City now was the same as the one who had been before, just from another time. And he did beleive it, but it was...

He was making excuses again, wasn't he? Reasons to hide away. Older or younger, the one who remembered him or not, Blue was still Blue...

But he was so afraid of screwing things up...

... the same fear he had with Alastair.

He didn't want things to change, not things like his friends or his friendships. But things did change. People changed, grew closer or father away, new experiences shaping them in different ways...

And he if stayed stock still, so afraid of--

He gave a soft exhale. Let it go... Give the fear its place and move on...

Blue was Blue. And hiding away only caused more hurt in the long run... He had promised Matsuka he'd stop hiding so much. If he promised one friend... why shouldn't that promise extend to others he was friends with?

"Maybe..." he finally began, hesitating almost as soon as he started before pushing ahead. "Just talking about it... maybe it'll make it easier then I finally..." he trailed off.

Because if he didn't talk to Alastair now, before everyone started leaving...