Hey guys! Finished my first year at university! So I decided to update this!

Enjoy!

The next morning went by surprisingly smooth. The boys got up and ready without giving her any trouble and even helped make breakfast. Toby let Willow drop him off at school with no arguments, almost forgetting to tell her goodbye in his excitement. Jake didn't even complain when she told him that he'd be staying at the game shop until Toby got out of school due to his suspension from school.

Willow walked with a bounce in her step and smile on her face, "What's got you so happy this morning, Willow?" Tristan asked. She looked over, smile still bright on her face, "The boys gave me no grief this morning at all, so it's shaping up to be a pretty good day." He nodded and went on to talk to Joey about something.

School went by without any problems. Her last class of the day was Musicianship and she took her seat next to Ryou. The room didn't have any desks and instead was filled with electric pianos in neat rows with a grand piano for the teacher in the front of the room. She made her way to the front row and the white-haired boy smiled at her when she sat down, "Hello, Willow."

She returned the smile, "Hey, Ryou." She said getting her notebook out and lifting the piano lid. Her hands glided over the keys, idly playing a melody while she waited for class to start, humming to herself softly.

Ryou watched as her fingers drifted across the keys, a light melody coming from the small electric speakers. He noticed that she always played the same one before class every day. Her face softened as she played, her eyes drifting shut and a small smile playing on her lips. She was naturally talented and a beautiful musician -er she played beautifully, he mentally corrected, looking away as a blush dusted his cheeks.

He was not musically inclined in the slightest. The only reason he was in this class was because it was required to get into the good universities; he was just glad it was with Willow- so she could help him, he told himself.

A dark chuckle broke him from his thoughts and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the spirit of the ring casually leaning against the wall, "What's wrong, little host? Flustered, are we?" he sneered with a smirk.

Ryou did his best to ignore him, trying to focus on the music that Willow was playing. It had gotten more complicated since the last time he'd heard it, her hands moving quicker along the lower notes of the piano instead of the sustained notes that she'd played before.

Her long auburn hair was pulled up into a high ponytail except for a few strands that framed her face. Ryou found that he liked it down better, when it tumbled down her shoulders and back, bouncing with her steps.

He didn't realize he was staring until she stopped playing and she was staring back, amber eyes unblinking. With a blush, Ryou cleared his throat, "Sorry. It's a beautiful piece, did you write it?" He stammered.

A blush of her own crept across her cheeks, and she gave him an easy smile, "Oh, it's nothing. Just a simple melody, I've been working on." She said. He nodded, about to say something else but was interrupted by the bell. The teacher walked in right after and began to set up her music and lesson for the day.

Willow flipped open her notebook and began to copy down the rhythm exercise that the teacher had put on the board. Ryou followed suit, drawing the notes in the spaces of the staff paper.

After a few minutes, she looked over to see him staring at the page, confusion written all over his face. She nudged him with her elbow, "Eighth notes don't get a whole beat, see how its in 4/4?" She asked, pointing to the time signature with the lead of her pencil.

He nodded, and she went on, "The four on the top tells you how many beats are in the measure and the four on the bottom tells you what note gets the beat. So there are four beats in the measure and the quarter note, gets a full beat. Which means…" She trailed off, motioning him to figure it out.

Ryou scrunched his brow, "The eighth note gets half a beat?" He said, uncertainty in his voice. Willow grinned, "Very good, that's exactly what it means!" He returned her smile and continued filling out the rhythm exercise.

After class was dismissed, Willow caught him before he could sneak out, "Hey did you still want to study for the test next week?" She asked, packing up her school bag. Ryou stilled for a moment before flashing her a smile, "Of course, we can meet at the library in a few? I just need to go by my locker first."

She nodded and returned his smile, "See you in a bit." Then he watched as she slipped passed him and down the hall, her hair bouncing with each step.

Ryou watched as she turned the corner and his smile faded as a familiar shadow appeared leaning against the lockers next to him, "Alone with a girl, host? I'm impressed." The spirit of the ring mocked before disappearing once more, his dark chuckle echoing in the boy's ears as he walked down the hall to his locker.

OoOoO

Willow's pencil traced the edges of the margins of her notebook while she waited in the library. She glanced at her phone, it was well after three and there was no text from the boys. 'That's odd,' she thought, I could've sworn that I told Jake to text me when he brought Toby home. I hope they're ok.'

She quickly dismissed the thought, thinking that they just got distracted at the game shop; there was no need to worry about them. She tried to focus on the movement of her pencil but her mind drifted once more, this time to the mysterious note and package she'd gotten last night.

She wondered how someone as high up as Pegasus would even know about her, let alone want to invite her to his tournament. Before they headed out the door that morning, Willow took the mysterious box and set it on top of the pile of recycling next to the street. When Joey gave her a curious look about the box, she shrugged and shook her head, promising to explain later.

It was just an invitation…so why did she get such a foreboding feeling in her gut at the thought of the box?

She shook her head and took a deep breath, there was no need to worry about that now. To calm the anxiety in her stomach, she continued to draw in the margins of her notebook.

Her pencil moved across the page, slowly at first, lightly sketching a face and outlining its features. As she continued, her movements became more hurried as she darkened some lines around the face and hair. Once that was done there, she began to sketch the eyes and nose in an almost hypnotic fashion.

The door to the library opened, snapping Willow back to reality. She looked up and saw Ryou walking in, glancing around for her. She waved from her table in the corner and tried to ignore the feeling that his excited grin gave her. She looked away and down at her finished sketch and froze.

It was Ryou, but it wasn't Ryou. It looked like him, but there was something darker about the eyes of the sketch; something sinister. It made her shiver and not in the good way,

"Hey Willow, sorry to make you wait!" Ryou said as he set his backpack on the table and Willow quickly slid her study guide over the sketch, "No worries, let's get started." She said, giving him a smile.

After an hour or so, the two had filled out most of their study sheets and Ryou had a better understanding of the basic music theory needed for the test. Willow looked out the window at the sunset as it painted the town in orange and pink, "It's getting late, I should get going." She said, as the two started to pack up their things.

Ryou nodded, sending his white locks into his eyes, "Let me walk you home, it's the least I could do for all your help." He said, giving her a sweet smile. She couldn't help the sheepish grin that graced her lips as well as the blush that crept its way up her neck and onto her cheeks, "You don't have to do that but, I'd appreciate it." She said, slinging her bag onto her shoulder.

He gave her a sheepish smile of his own, "It's no trouble at all." He said, opening the door for her.

There was that sweet grin again, the one that made his warm brown eyes twinkle and her stomach do flips. She returned the smile and walked out the door, wondering just where all these thoughts about Ryou came from.

They talked about the weather while they waited for the street light to turn, but Willow's attention was on her phone; still no messages from the boys. Worry gnawed at her stomach and she couldn't help the heaviness that weighed on her chest. She shot a quick text to Joey just as the light changed,

Hey Jo, are you still at the game shop? Are the boys still there?

She looked up to cross the street and realized that her companion had fallen silent. She immediately felt rude, "Sorry, Ryou. I just haven't heard from the boys today. Jake was supposed to let me know when he got home with Toby."

Ryou looked down at her and shook his hands in front of him, "Oh, it's quite alright, Willow. I understand, I hope everything is alright." He said, and she smiled at the gesture despite the pit forming in her stomach, "I hope so, thank you."

They continued on their way, passing the game shop as they did. Willow poked her head in, expecting to see the little blonde and brunette boys playing in the lobby, but there was nothing, just Joey and Yugi talking at the counter. Willow's heart dropped to her stomach like a stone in a lake.

"Heya, Wills, Bakura." Joey waved to the two, before zeroing in on the look in Willow's eyes, "What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up off of the counter.

"The boys aren't here?" She asked, her voice small and delicate.

Joey cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowed, "No, they left a couple hours ago. Jake didn't text you?" He asked, but a cold shiver ran down Willow's spine and sent her running out the door, pushing Ryou out of the way. She ignored their panicked calls after her and kept running home.

Something was wrong.

The worry had turned to panic and it coursed though her veins like ice. Her heart was pounding in her chest and blood rushed in her ears as she ran down the street to her apartment. She slid around the corner and almost lost her backpack, though the thought of losing it didn't bother her any. She heard the guys running up behind her but she didn't care, she had to make sure her boys were safe.

The street in front of her grew blurry and she blinked the tears away, No! They're fine! There's no reason to panic like this! You'll see! They're probably playing video games and forgot to text me. But she couldn't reason with the cold terror running up her spine.

Willow stopped cold in front of her apartment, its door kicked wide open and the lights off. For a moment, all of the energy from before disappeared, leaving her deflated on the porch. Until a sudden rush of red hot rage surged though her, sending her rushing into the duplex.

"Jake! TOBY!" She shouted, her voice shaking as she searched the apartment frantically, barely taking in the ransacked living room and kitchen. Pillows and cushions were tossed carelessly across the room, books had been thrown from shelves, and the dining table and chairs had been overturned.

She tore through the hall calling frantically, "Please baby, I need you to tell me you're alright!" She headed into the boys' room and creaked the door open.

The room looked exactly as it had that morning when she'd gotten them up for school. Messy but it was the regular messy for the boys. Willow searched the closet and under the bed, even moving blankets and pillows to try and find them

No boys.

Her hands shook like aspen leaves and the lump in her throat grew larger as she tried to swallow around it. The fury and desperation in her chest thumped in time with her racing heart as she left their room and headed for her own.

Her door was left open, nothing looked out of place. She searched madly under the bed and in the closet for them. She called for them, tears running down her face and clogging her throat, but to no avail. Her vision began to tunnel and she fell to her knees in front of her bed.

Still no boys.

Her eyes landed on something that hadn't been there before.

Sat on the bed was one of Toby's teddy bears with a note safety pinned to its' chest.

Pier 24

Wednesday 9pm

Let the games begin, Ms. Avila

Next to the bear, sat the box that she had thrown out this morning, looking just like it had last night. It sat open, the glove and stars shining in the dying sunlight.

Her boys were gone.

She didn't sob, she didn't cry out; she felt frozen, stuck in time. She sat that way for a few minutes, staring at the bear blankly.

When her mind began to catch up with her, anger swelled in her chest and she flung her head back, screaming as loud as she could. Willow stood and swept everything off of her desk, tossing books against the wall, and the desk chair to the floor; she knocked her dresser onto its side and broke water glasses and old coffee mugs. She ripped drawings and pictures off walls and hurled them across the room, shouting in outrage.

"Wills, hey! Stop! Willow!" Her hand had grabbed a chair to throw it, when Joey found her and shouted for her to stop. Strong arms wrapped around her and tried to force her to sit down.

At first, she fought it, shouting incoherent curses and kicking and writhing in Joey's grip. Then her eyes landed on the bear once more, and a sob ripped itself from her throat as her vision grew blurry.

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest and icy fingers gripped it firmly, crushing it slowly. Sobs escaped her in broken breaths and her lungs refused to draw in oxygen. Her knees were suddenly too weak to hold her, and she sank to the carpet. Slowly, the grip on her loosened and let go. Blindly, she reached for the bear and hugged it to her chest tightly, as she sobbed violently. She began to mumble and rock back and forth slowly.

Joey knelt down in front of her, "Wills! What happened? Where are the boys?" He asked, but she just kept rocking and muttering. She stared straight ahead, golden eyes dulled and red rimmed. Her breath came in short stutters as the sobs subsided.

Yugi approached her with Shadow, the cat's yellow eyes wide and terrified, "We found him outside on the porch, luckily he didn't get very far." He said, placing the cat down next to her when she made no move to take the animal from him. Shadow rubbed his face on her leg and hopped up on the bed and laid down next to her head. Yugi frowned but left the room, leaving his friends to comfort her.

Bakura stood in the doorway watching the scene before him with narrowed mahogany eyes.

As soon as the girl had rushed out of the shop and down the street, he had taken over and hurried after her. He tried not to question why he had done it, tried not to question how he had done it immediately; tried not to question how his heart had squeezed in his chest when she'd run off without warning.

Tried to ignore how much it had reminded him of another scene at another time.

He stepped forward, grabbing a blanket from the bed and wrapping it around the trembling girl, "Joey, why don't you go and help Tristan fix up the furniture in the living room. Give her time to process." He said softly.

Joey looked like he was going to protest but nodded, "Take care of her." He said, his voice hard, before he headed down the hall towards the kitchen and living room.

Once the boy was gone, Bakura knelt down next to Willow, gently brushing the hair from her face, must've fallen from its ponytail when she was running, he mused. He could feel her shaking as he tucked the lock of auburn hair behind her ear; it was a familiar gesture, one he had done many times with hair the same color.

He cupped her cheek in his palm, brushing his thumb against her cheek, tracing the still wet tear tracks on them, "Tell me what happened here," He murmured softly.

Her eyes seemed to focus on his face as he tilted her face up to his, her golden eyes clashing with warm red brown. For a moment, he thought they flashed a brilliant emerald and he felt the ice of his heart chip away ever so slightly.

Bakura leaned forward, their faces inches apart, "Tell me what happened here, love." His voice was barely audible and he felt her shiver as she nuzzled her cheek against his palm, "'Kura…" She whispered, her voice sounding so much like hers had been and his heart leapt. But then her eyes focused and her brows furrowed as moved away from him. The moment was gone,

"Ryou?"

He frowned but said in a soft voice, "Willow, where are the boys?"

He knew the children were important to her, and even if she wasn't his Kitten, he did feel something towards her and the boy with the puzzle seemed to be a close friend. Bakura decided that he would attempt to help this girl, if only to further his own plans.

That's what he told himself anyway.

At the question her face began to crumple as fresh tears began to fall down her face, "I knew something was wrong, I shouldn't have stayed after school! I should've come straight home!" She mumbled hysterically, "They're gone!" she sobbed, "They're gone, and it's all my fault!"

Bakura frowned, anger building in his chest. He firmly cupped her face in his hands, "Willow, look at me." His voice was firm, no longer like his hosts' soft one, forcing her to still her frantic eyes on him,

"It's not your fault, we are going to find the bastards that did this and we are going to get your boys back!" He said, his mahogany eyes holding her gaze. Somehow, just hearing that calmed her and she took a shaky breath before nodding,

"You're right, thank you Ryou." Willow said shakily, wiping the tears from her face. Once she'd gotten herself calmed down, Bakura stood and look towards the box, "What's this?"

She sighed and rose from the floor as fluidly as she could. She sniffled again, placing the bear and the note on the bed next to it, "It's from Industrial Illusions, I've been invited to a Duel Monsters tournament." Her voice was flat as she stared at the box and its contents. Shadow jumped up onto the bed, purring curiously about his owners' emotional state.

Bakura picked up the note from the bear and turned it over, reading the p.s. on the reverse side out loud,

P.S
Should you wish to see your brothers again, Ms. Avila, you'll have to win them back.

No calling the police, now

See you on the island.

When he was finished, she was silent, gently petting the black cat, who rubbed his face on her sweater. Then she flung herself at him, burying her face in his chest and sobbed. Bakura's arms were raised in shock at the sudden change in her demeaner. But, slowly, he lowered them to wrap around the crying girl, one arm going around her middle and the other gently tangling in her hair.

They stayed that way for a while, him holding her until her sobs eventually turned into hiccupping breaths, his hand gently running through her hair in a calming fashion. After while her breathing evened out and small snores escaped her nose, causing him to crack a smile, the noise bringing him another memory.

He looked down at the slumbering princess in his bed, her auburn tresses splayed out in wild curls as she lay across his chest, his fingers gently tracing patterns on her back. Her soft snores told him she was fast asleep and after their…activities, he didn't blame her, he was tired as well. But he couldn't help but want to stay awake just a little longer and watch her sleep.

She seemed so at peace when she slept, her gentle breaths, even her snores, were enough to make his chest feel full. Bakura couldn't believe how lucky he was to have such a beautiful woman to be all his; she was perfect in every way. She moved in her sleep, nuzzling closer, a soft smile painted on her perfect lips.

Bakura looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms and, as carefully as he could, laid her down in her own bed. His eyes drifted down to her lips without his permission and he growled, disgusted with himself. This wasn't her! No matter how similar they were, his Kitten was gone.

He turned to the door but a soft groan made him look back at her.

Willow had rolled over in her sleep, her hands blindly searching for the warmth they once held. He forced himself to leave the room then. He wouldn't allow himself any more of these trips down memory lane, he had a mission and he would complete it. Only then would he allow himself such pleasures.

Only then would he be reunited with his princess.

Bit of an emotional roller-coaster ride for poor Willow, but that's how to get the plot rolling for Duelist Kingdom arc!

Hopefully this gets a bit more attention now that I've gotten to the point where all the excitement happens.

I hope you all enjoyed it! Lemme know what you think as always :)

Until Next Time Lovelies,

~Shikamaru'sLove