A/N: Alright, I admit...I have no shame. I'm stuck in a vexshipping hole and can't seem to get out of it. This was supposed to be a one-shot and then, as it usually does with me, it derailed into a thirty-page adventure that I had to split up. I tried to stick as closely to Anzu and Bakura's personalities in the manga as I could in order to make this happen, but inevitably, they do go off track from time to time. And, as mentioned in the summary, this is a THREE-part story. I could have probably turned it into a longer multi-chaptered story, but I wanted to try and keep as close to the manga as possible in this one without taking too much creative justice on the events/characters. With that said, enjoy!

I.

The lull of cicadas and water in the distance created a harmonic symphony on the island. The breeze was warm, signaling the beginning of spring. Duelist Kingdom had initiated only a few days ago and, settled in as they were on the island, it was easy to forget there was anything outside of the tournament and the other duelists. It was easy to forget that there was anything more sinister happening on the island.

Leaning out the window, Anzu peered across the expanse of the castle out to the water. The rest of her friends had long fallen asleep, though Honda was still missing from their brief nighttime adventure. He had said he was going to continue to look for Mokuba after they had run into multiple dead ends and far too many secret tunnels of which to keep track. Ryou had returned with her, but Anzu had recognized that the white-haired youth had not been himself.

At one point when a trap had sprung on them from Honda's poor footing, he had thrown himself on Anzu to avoid the arrow that had shot from a crossbow. She had heard him curse and, when looking into his face, she saw the familiar, angular, narrow-eyed features of the evil spirit of the Sennen Ring, Bakura, rather than Ryou. After blinking and when he turned to her, though, it was as if he had never been there.

Something isn't right, she decided, frowning. Turning away from the window, she crossed the room and left her room, heading in the direction of Ryou's. Tapping softly, she called quietly, "Ryou? Are you still awake?" Turning the knob, she poked her head in to find him sitting at the edge of his bed, his forearms leaning against the top of his thighs.

"Oh," he said, straightening. "Anzu. What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind her. The lights were off in the room, with only moonlight filtering through and giving any sunlight to the room. Moving to sit next to him on the bed, she peered into his face, but there was nothing in it that she could recognize as the subtle changes from Ryou to Bakura. He looked the same as he had earlier when he and Honda had come to her run. Even though she had not seen him in such a light, she could see understand well why women found him attractive. His other half, unfortunately, had the same superficial appeal in spite of the dementia that seemed to riddle his mind. "Do you think being around the Sennen Puzzle and Pegasus's Eye...does something to you?"

"Do something?" he repeated, cocking his head. His eyes narrowed the slightest bit, though she did not immediately notice.

"With Yuugi, ever since he got the Sennen Puzzle, he has been a little different." She leaned back, her palms planted behind her as she turned her gaze towards the window. "He used to be this really nervous, shy kid that was always afraid to speak up in class because he would get bullied so much. Ever since he met the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle, he's been more confident, happy, and more willing to stand up for himself. I just kind of wondered if you experienced anything like that." She turned back towards him.

"Not really," Ryou answered, emitting a small laugh and rubbing the back of his head. "I was scared to death tonight that one of Pegasus's goons were going to find us."

She smiled warmly and fell silent, dropping her gaze to her feet. She wanted to ask him more about the spirit, but wondered if it would be invasive. It was clear the spirit was still there in the Sennen Ring, yet her exposure to him was only through the RPG game where he had violently stabbed himself on the top of a model castle. She knew that Yuugi had more interaction with him than any of their other friends did. Jounouchi and Honda were quick to label the spirit as unstable and while she had certainly found the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle to be gallant and hero-worthy, she had to recognize that he, too, at times could push the boundaries of modern-day methods of discipline.

"What is he like?" she asked at last in spite of herself.

He blinked. "Who?"

"The spirit of the Sennen Ring."

His eyebrows shot towards his hairline. "What a weird question. Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's interesting to me, I guess. Him and the spirit in Yuugi's puzzle don't seem much different. I remember Yuugi telling me once that he was frightened of his because he would do these really violent things and even if it was sometimes to help us, he felt like it was overkill at times. I had to remind him that Kaiba once tried to gas us in his chamber at Kaiba Land." She made a gagging sound, pretending to suffocate, and then laughed. "I don't think any teenagers have had as close of calls as us when it comes to dying."

"I don't think so, either." He paused, his gaze turning to the other side of the room. "I don't know how to describe Bakura. He scares me because I don't understand him. I think there is a lot that drives him. He wants something, I think, but isn't quite sure what it is or why. It's almost like a hidden possession." He suddenly gave a shrug. "I guess everyone might feel that way."

"Maybe," she agreed. "It's kind of sad, though, isn't it? To be trapped inside an ancient artifact, I mean." She smiled faintly.

Anzu started in surprise at feeling Ryou's hand on her knee. When she turned to him, he was smiling. "That's nice of you to say, Anzu." He removed his hand and then stood up. "You should really get to bed. Tomorrow will be busy and we'll need our energy. Hopefully Honda turns up again at some point."

Anzu followed to her feet and as they made their way to the door, she touched his shoulder, causing him to look at her in puzzlement. "Earlier...I thought I saw him." She gestured with her other hand towards him. "In your face, I mean."

"Did you?" he asked lightly. "It was probably the shadow."

Anzu hesitated and then leaned forward a little, peering into Ryou's face. Although his back was to the moonlight, there was no mistaking the familiar features of the spirit. As she made to pull away, he took a harder grip around her arm and tugged her so that she nearly toppled into him. Gritting her teeth and forcing herself to collect some of the old-fashioned Mazaki fire she had inherited, her eyebrows snapped down and she glared up at him. "You could be a little more gentle, you know."

"I could," the spirit of the Sennen Ring agreed, smiling languidly, "but that would defeat the purpose. You had better keep this little secret of ours to yourself, girl. I don't need Yuugi nosing about trying to get the Sennen Ring from me."

She pursed her lips. "Are you going to hurt him?"

"Him? No." His smile turned positively unpleasant. "The spirit in the Puzzle? That's another story."

Her stomach lurched uncomfortably and she raised a hand to slap him, but then thought better of it. Before she could lower her hand, however, he had snatched her wrist and dragged her even closer to where their noses were nearly touching. "Think twice next time before you raise your hand," he advised. He dropped her wrist and laughed when she scrambled for the door.

"Go to hell, Bakura," she snapped.

"Oh, but I am hell," he replied, cackling.

She scowled at him from her position at the door, her fingertips finding the doorknob behind her to reassure her that she was near enough to flee if she so chose. Any other person would have walked away from Bakura while they had a chance; instead, in her bullheaded and far too curious fashion, she lingered. She inspected him curiously, taking note of the differences in his countenance and appearance. He had not moved to attack or follow her. He seemed to be surveying her just the same, as though they were two wary predators encountering each other in a forest.

I should go, she told herself, yet her interest was piqued by Bakura's inaction. There was no explanation for it. Slowly, she dropped her fingers from the doorknob and straightened back from leaning against the door. His eyes drifted to where her hand dropped to her side before raising back to her face. "I have a question for you."

"A question? For an 'evil spirit'?" He laughed. "Finally, a change of pace. Or are you just stupid?"

"I'm not stupid," she snapped back. "You haven't done anything to me or my friends. I don't have any reason to hate you. Even Kaiba has done worse. Put me through his little hell ride of electrocution and then maybe I'll feel differently."

Bakura seemed to consider that, tracing his lips with a finger idly. After a moment, he lifted a shoulder in a graceful, nonchalant shrug. "Fine. Spit it out, then, girl."

"Who are you?"

"A tomb robber." He glanced away from her, his mouth turning down into a frown. "And something else. Your spirit in the Puzzle – he's a long-dead pharaoh."

"My spirit?" she repeated, startled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He barked out a laugh. "You might not be on my radar, but even I can see your little crush."

Anzu clenched her fists, battling with the urge to storm towards him and knock him against the head as she often did with Jounouchi. She had to remind herself that she was playing with a temperamental, unpredictable spirit and not an average high school boy. As she looked at him, though, it was hard to see him as anything but a school boy. Aside from the Sennen Ring that had appeared around his neck, he looked as normal as any other boy in her classes. Admittedly, he was a good deal more attractive than most; Ryou himself landed higher on the scale than most men when it came to the looks category. She nearly sighed aloud with exasperation that she had now made a mental note of their looks in her head twice now.

"Now, I get to ask you a question," he continued.

"I'm not playing a game," she automatically replied, tensing up.

"Relax," he drawled, waving a hand dismissively. "As if I would waste my time playing a Shadow Game with you. I prefer a challenge." He smirked at her look of offense. "My question for you, girl, is: why are you still here? Your friends pick a fight or run away from me as soon as they see me." His eyes traveled down the length of her body with open interest, sliding back up to her face that had begun to flush in embarrassment at the invasive nature of his stare. "Or do you simply have a thing for dead men locked in jewelry?"

"Here's some advice, Bakura," she said snidely, not liking his stare or the implications. "How about you actually drop dead?"

"It sounds simple, doesn't it?" His smile was sharp, causing her next words to fail at her lips before she could deliver her next insult. "You get killed, your body stops, and you're supposed to die – drop dead, as you say. You can thank your boyfriend for sticking me in this for five thousand years."

"I don't have a boyfriend," she stiffly returned, "and the spirit of the Puzzle – he doesn't look at me that way." I found that out the hard way a long time ago when I kept trying to see him every chance I got.

"Whatever." He took a few steps closer to her and then pointed a finger at her, the tip of his finger finding her hard sternum in her chest. "How about we trade places? You sit in a prison cell in the Sennen Ring while Ryou runs around and I'll play the part of a high school girl. Shall we see how long your mental stability remains intact?"

He knows that they all think he's crazy. She did not, however, feel as if she were talking to a crazy person at the moment. While Bakura's face was partially obscured in shadow, she could see the slight smile playing at the edges of his mouth – a bitter, darkly amused twist that made her wonder just what was driving him. While the spirit in the Puzzle was as articulate as Bakura, he had always seemed somewhat detached. In her mind, he had been a far-away hero type that was untouchable and every time she reached for him, he disappeared. Bakura's gaze was so direct, his manner of speaking so personal that it unnerved her. Strangely, he felt more human. There was a rawness to him that made her want to know more in spite of the dangers that lied behind such a curiosity.

"I know what you're doing," she told him after the silence had lengthened, "and it's not going to work. I'm not afraid of you." She reached up and put her hand over his, pushing his hand away and rubbing the tender spot where he had jabbed his finger. "Do your worst, Bakura."

He chuckled, dropping his hand to his side. "Is that a challenge?"

"No," she answered, turning away from him to open the door, "just making it clear you can't scare me."

"We'll see how long that remains true, girl."

"It's a good thing Bakura was there!"

Anzu stirred from her thoughts, turning to look at Yuugi in question. His skin was still singed from the fire he had escaped that Otogi's father had set in the game store. He had been clasping his Sennen Puzzle far more securely in the past week than ever in the past. She had not quite recovered from the shock of seeing Yuugi collapsed in Jounouchi's arms. He had been unconscious and, for a moment, she had feared her best friend had died in the fire from asphyxiation. After visiting him in the hospital, she had been unsettled by the thought of a new psychopath pursuing Yuugi. She had even considered chucking the Sennen Puzzle into the river, immediately dismissing the thought at imagining the lonely spirit, Yami, questioning why he could no longer be released from the Puzzle. She could not imagine the devastation that Yuugi would experience.

"Bakura? Don't you mean Ryou?"

He shook his head. "No, it was the spirit of the Sennen Ring. He showed up just in time. He was there the entire time until you guys showed up."

That doesn't sound like Bakura, she thought with a frown, recalling her last exchange with him. Since that night in Pegasus's castle, she had not seen Bakura emerge from the Sennen Ring. Every time she saw Ryou, she could only sense the warmth of her friend. It surprised her that he had gone to Yuugi's aid when, until then, he had done very little to help them. His behavior was peculiar. She hated to admit that this sudden change in character made her even more curious as to his motives and his involvement.

Turning away from the conversation that Yuugi was having with Jounouchi and Honda, she peered across the classroom to where Ryou was talking to a group of girls, laughing and rubbing his arm awkwardly. After that 'date' with the other Yuugi – with the pharaoh – everything seems so surreal. Once all of the Sennen Items are collected and placed back in the tablet, he will regain his memories. It's the same thing that Bakura wants.

Standing up, she said, "I'll be right back."

Her friends gave her a puzzled look as she crossed the room and edged her way into the group that was surrounding Ryou. The girls sent her a sidelong, suspicious look, but Ryou perked up and, almost in relief greeted, "Anzu! Hello!"

"Do you have a minute?" She pointed towards the hall, smiling. "I wanted to ask a favor from you."

"Sure!" He dislodged himself from one of the girls that had been edging towards him. Once they were out in the hallway, the door shut behind them, he released a tiny sigh that was cut off when he noticed one of the girls peering out of the screen windows attached to the hallway. "Let's go talk down this way, shall we?"

"Is it always like that?" she asked in an undertone, glancing over her shoulder at the glowering face that was watching them from the classroom before the window shut with a snap.

"Always," he sighed more freely, his shoulders drooping slightly as they rounded a corner. "It's always a relief when I'm with you guys because they don't approach me. I think Jounouchi and Honda scare them."

Anzu laughed. "I don't blame them. Nobody wants to be around 'delinquents.'"

"So, what's up?" He gave her a bright smile. "You said you needed a favor?"

"Yes, well...I don't know how to ask this..." She rubbed her hair, her gaze drifting to the open hallway as her brow furrowed. "Is there a way I could talk to Bakura?"

"Bakura?" he repeated, his jaw dropping open. "Why would you want to talk to him?"

"It's about the Sennen Items," she explained in a rush. "I know that you don't have the same relationship with him as Yuugi does with his spirit, but I think he could help them with something. Yuugi would never ask – and neither would the other Yuugi."

Ryou frowned, his usually warm features turning worried. "I don't know about this, Anzu. He has a way of getting what he wants when he helps someone."

"I think this already is something he wants. For once, I think him and Yuugi are on the same page."

He continued to frown, eyeing her thoughtfully. After a few moments, he released a breath through his nose, looking away from her with compressed lips. "Alright. But you can't say I didn't warn you." He unbuttoned his school jacket and touched his Sennen Ring that was lying beneath the uniform. A subtle glow emanated briefly before his features changed and she knew by the changes in Ryou's appearance that he had called on the spirit from the Ring.

Bakura, perhaps unaccustomed to being roused from the Ring by his host, was surveying Anzu with a wary, suspicious gaze. "You again," he observed at last, snorting. "Ryou tells me you want something from me."

"Consider it information you might want," Anzu told him, propping a hand on her hip in an attempt to brace herself and appear more confident than she felt. "Have you heard of the pharaoh's tablet before? In Egypt?"

"The tablet." Anzu flinched at the vehemence in which he had repeated the words. He had twitched, as though to grab her, but had seemed to force himself into stillness by sheer will alone. "How do you know about the tablet, girl?"

There was the sound of voices and Anzu jumped slightly, recognizing one of them as a teacher. She gestured for Bakura to follow and hurried down the hallway with him following to an empty classroom. She closed the door quietly behind them, peeking outside the window. Glancing at the clock, she estimated that she had about thirty minutes before they needed to be back in the classroom before the bell rang. Turning away, she stiffened upon facing Bakura, whose face was twisted into an annoyed expression.

"Stop wasting time hiding from teachers," he snapped, "and get on with it."

"There's a tablet in the museum," she obliged grudgingly, not liking his attitude. "The other Yuugi – sorry, the pharaoh – and I saw it when we were out on a date the other day. There's a woman there that has a necklace with the Sennen Eye on it – I think she called it the Tauk. She told us that she could see the future, that there would be a battle for the Items and once the Items were collected, he would regain his memories and know his name again."

"'Regain' his memories?" Bakura repeated, this time looking disgusted. "He doesn't remember? That fool! He uses all the magic of the Items, but doesn't even bother to lock his memories in the Puzzle where he can find them for use? Even I retained most of my memory!" He paused a beat and then laughed suddenly. "Did you say you went out on a date with the pharaoh?"

Anzu's back went rod-straight and she glared at him. "Yuugi set it up, for your information. And it wasn't like that. It was pretty obvious he didn't want to be there."

Bakura arched a brow at her. "Oh? Go ahead, then. Tell me all the juicy details of how boring your date was."

"There are no juicy details!" she snapped. "He didn't talk for more than half of it and when he did, it was about Yuugi and how he wants to regain his memories. He bought some Duel Monster cards, we went to the arcade, and that's it. Nothing else."

"Of course he bought some cards," was Bakura's snide quip, snickering.

"And what about you?" she countered, frustrated at being reminded of how pathetic of a date it had turned into that day. Her mind had manufactured an exciting, romantic opportunity with the pharaoh. She had imagined him sweeping her off her feet, getting into a fight with a robber, and passionately kissing her in a park. Only after she had gone home and promptly cried into her pillow had she realized how ridiculous of an idea that had been. Since then, she had been berating herself for being so childish and to stop imagining herself in some sort of fairy tale romance.

In spite of how logically she had come to terms with the fact that the pharaoh was far more interested in Duel Monsters and Yuugi than women, a small part of her had still hoped that being alone together might invigorate some part of his libido.

Instead of a passionate prince, she had been left with a man having a literal identity crisis.

"I don't need to go on a date to buy cards."

"I'm referring to you helping Yuugi! You could have left him to handle Otogi and his father, but instead you chose to help him. If the Puzzle had stayed broken, the pharaoh would have been gone – isn't that what you wanted?"

"On my terms," he replied smoothly. "I still need the Sennen Puzzle for my own uses. Yuugi is the only one who can build the Sennen Puzzle. There is a reason that the Puzzle is so much more powerful than any of the other items. Even my Ring is not as strong – or as complex. All the Ring needed was a host – it just so happened that the magic of the Sennen Ring allowed it to fall into my reincarnation's hands. Until all the Items are collected, Yuugi is the only one who can wield the Puzzle."

"But that's just the thing – he wants them collected, as well," she told him. "That was the favor I was going to ask."

He laughed darkly and then stepped closer to her to where he was towering over her. "You want me to collect the Items? I was already intending to do that and have been. I already have Pegasus's Eye. It's only a matter of time until I find the other ones."

Anzu shivered slightly, recalling the article she had read regarding Pegasus ending up hospitalized shortly after Duelist Kingdom. Was that because of Bakura? When did he even have time to take his Sennen Eye? She had to forcibly shake that thought from her head and turned her gaze up to his, feeling the tension build up in her body. Bakura wants the Items for something – not for his memories, clearly, since he remembers more than the pharaoh. If all of the Sennen Items are collected and the pharaoh remembers his past, what will the cost be? Even if I told him what Bakura planned, though, would it make a difference? The way he was talking after the museum...I don't think anything will change his mind.

She took in a deep breath before saying, "I want you to help him. I know that your motives are different than his, but I don't think it will matter. He wants to know his past. He's determined to find out who he is."

Bakura considered her, tilting his head slightly to the side. "And what do I get out of helping him?"

"What do you mean? You'll get the Items, obviously."

"That helps the pharaoh as much as it helps me. In fact, it helps him more than me. I have two items. All I get from him is some information, but not even the Puzzle." He smirked suddenly and then he stepped closer, closing the small gap of space between them, forcing her to back into the door. "If you want to help him so much, make a deal with me, little girl."

The beat of Anzu's heart was crashing against her ribcage, echoing in her ears. He was far too close for comfort, leaning down, his palms lying flat on either side of her face. He was not threatening her, but something about his stance made her distinctly ill at ease. Sweat had begun to build on her palms and her breath had grown shallow. Aside from Kaiba's lunatic amusement park, she had not had to directly face anyone after their lives – it had always been Yuugi or Jounouchi.

She had told him he could not scare her and while she was not frightened, there was some other sensation in her belly she was unable to place.

"Try me," she said at last and knew she did not sound as confident as the first time she had faced him. His smile broadened.

"I can see every desire in your heart," he told her, dropping his hand from the wall and tracing a finger along her jawline, his fingertips brushing against the skin of her neck. "Your pharaoh has adopted too much of his new character from Yuugi – he's ashamed to return to his dark roots. He's decided to take on the role of a paragon of virtue."

His hand had found her hip and she felt the burn of her cheeks as his hand drifted lower, bare fingers skimming the skin of her thigh, his thumb catching at the edge of her skirt. In spite of the screaming her head to move, her body seemed frozen in place.

"And?" She tilted her head up, forcing herself to look as strong as she wanted to be in that moment. "What's your point?"

"I don't have that issue."

When he dipped his head and kissed her, her initial reaction was that of naïve shock. Her mental image of a passionate kiss was limited to girl magazine stories and chaste kisses in books. In an instant, however, she found herself tangled up in him. His hand had swept up her skirt, cupping the swell of her backside and anchoring her against him. His other hand had caught hers, pinning it beside her head, his fingers entwining in hers, and her other hand had someone gotten a handful of the edge of his uniform. She knew nothing of kissing outside of her practicing pecks on her own hand, but he taught her expertly, coaxing her lips to part, and to taste him as he did her, his tongue sweeping against hers. She was both breathless and dizzy by the time he had raised his head.

His eyes were so dark and for a moment, they nearly looked black. He did not give her enough time to gather her wits to think for longer than necessary on what had just happened because he had kissed her again just as she opened her mouth to make a protest. There was a brief struggle where she tried to wriggle away from him, but when she had pulled her hand from his grip, she instead tangled her fingers in his hair and felt the crush of his chest and the sharp edges of the Sennen Ring against her torso.

His hands smoothed over her skirt, instead traversing up the gentle curve of her spine to hold her against his body. This time, it was she that had broken away, aware of how warm her body was growing and an uncomfortable, aching need in the southern region of her body. Just as she became aware of it, it seemed Bakura had, as well. He chuckled and a shiver traveled up her spine as he pressed his face against her neck, nuzzling her ear.

"So," he murmured, "it seems we have a deal."

End Part I.